The present pilot study was designed as a multivariate test of stress as a factor in hypertension. A model is proposed that includes family history of hypertension, high life stress exposure, the subjective appraisal of being under considerable stress, and the tendency to somatize stress cardiovascularly. Health risk behaviors frequently implicated in hypertensive disease were also measured. A sample of 76 low income black adults were interviewed privately and classified into two groups on the basis of "no elevated blood pressure readings" or "1 + elevated readings." Univariate comparisons generally supported the hypotheses. Multivariate stepwise discriminant analyses also were conducted as a stricter test of the model. Six factors were identified as the major discriminators between the groups: cardiovascular and renal symptoms, family history of high blood pressure, proportion of negative to total life change events, and electrodermal and gastrointestinal somatic reactions. Age and positive life stress experiences were also important discriminators.
A multivariate stress and health risk model is proposed to test the contribution of stress on blood pressure in Black college students. Measures of stress reaction pattern, level of stress exposure, personal level of distress, the availability of social supports, personal and family health history, and health status were obtained from a sample of 191 Black university students. Multiple regression analyses predicting systolic and diastolic blood pressure overall and by gender supported the hypothesis that stress interacts with prior familial health history, personal health status, and level of subjective distress to predict blood pressure. Stress affected health and blood pressure differently for Black males and females.
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