Coping and metabolic syndrome indicators in urban black South African men

Abstract

SummaryUrbanisation is associated with obesity, hypertension and development of the metabolic syndrome (MS). We aimed to assess the use of different coping styles and their influence on increases in MS indicators and target end-organ damage (TOD) in urban black African men. A sample of 53 men was classified as clear high active (AC, n = 30) or passive coping (PC, n = 23) responders, using the Amirkhan African validated coping style indicator. Blood pressure (BP) was recorded with an aneroid sphygmomanometer and waist circumference (WC) was determined. Carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) and microalbuminuria were analysed to determine TOD.Fasting serum and eight-hour urine samples revealed elevated MS indicators in AC men. Strong associations existed between MS indicators and TOD in AC but not PC men. To conclude, only BP and seeking social support were positively associated with TOD in urban PC African men, while in urban AC African men, most MS indicators were positively associated with TOD, i.e. sub-clinical atherosclerosis and renal impairment.

Defensive coping and renovascular disease risk — Adrenal fatigue in a cohort of Africans and Caucasians: The SABPA study

“…Considering sex differences; African men in the low cortisol category have a ten times higher risk of increased ACR, than those in the high cortisol category. This confirms results from previous studies, where African men revealed attenuated cortisol responses associated with structural wall remodelling [32] and poorer health than their female and Caucasian counterparts [2,13,32,42]. From these results, it is evident that African men with low or possible down-regulated cortisol levels reveal more vulnerability for renovascular disease than their high cortisol as well as Caucasian counterparts.…”

Defensive coping, urbanization, and neuroendocrine function in Black Africans: The THUSA study

“…Sub‐Saharan Africans experience a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (Gaillard, ). These findings are supported by the synergistic effect of the metabolic syndrome and defensive active coping responses in urban African men (Du Plessis, Malan, & Malan, ; Malan, Malan, Wissing, & Seedat, ).…”

“…The physiological profile of urban AC African males resembled a vascular α‐adrenergic profile or loss of control, which is more commonly reflective of PC responses (Hamer & Malan, ). An apparent dissociation between β‐adrenergic behavioral and physiological cardiometabolic AC responses was thus demonstrated in urban African males (Du Plessis et al., ; Malan et al., ). Such dissociation may lead to wear and tear on the body (allostatic load) and an increased cardiometabolic disease risk (McEwen, ).…”

Determining ethnic-, gender-, and age-specific waist circumference cut-off points to predict metabolic syndrome: the Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans (SABPA) study

“…These risk factors may be coping strategies that are utilised when living in an urban environment, 11,20 and have been associated with increased WC, 21 and subsequently with the progression of MetS.…”

“…10 MetS can contribute to the strain of microalbuminuria as a marker of target organ damage. 8,9,[11][12][13][14] It has been found that various MetS risk factors have been associated with renal impairment with regard to target organ damage in the SABPA population. 8,15 Determining ethnic-, gender-, and age-specific waist circumference cut-off points to predict metabolic syndrome: the Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans (SABPA) study JEMDSA The aim of this study was firstly to develop a WC cutoff point for Africans and Caucasians in ethnic-, gender-and age-specific groups (25-45 years and 46-65 years) for MetS in this cohort.…”