Socioeconomic status was not significantly associated with cardiovascular reactivity to stress (r = 0.008; 95% CI -0.02 to 0.04), although higher SES was associated with better recovery from stress.
Meta-Analysis (n=14,617)
Does socioeconomic status affect cardiovascular reactivity to and recovery from acute stress tasks?
Higher socioeconomic status is associated with better cardiovascular recovery from acute stress, suggesting a potential physiological pathway linking low SES to increased cardiovascular disease risk.
Effect estimate: r = 0.008 (95% CI -0.02 to 0.04)
OBJECTIVE: Disparities in cardiovascular health by socioeconomic status (SES) are a pressing public health concern. Hypothesized mechanisms linking low SES to poor health are large cardiovascular responses to and delayed recovery from psychological stress. The current study presents a meta-analysis of the literature on the association of SES with blood pressure and heart rate reactivity to and recovery from acute stress tasks. METHODS: The PubMed database was searched, and 26 unique studies with relevant data were identified (k = 25 reactivity n = 14,617, k = 6 recovery n = 1,324). RESULTS: Using random-effects models, no significant association between SES and cardiovascular reactivity to stress emerged (r = .008, 95% confidence interval = -.02 to .04), although higher SES was associated with better recovery from stress (r = -.14, 95% confidence interval -.23 to -.05). Stressor type moderated the reactivity effect, wherein higher SES was associated with greater reactivity to cognitive stressors (r = .036, p = .024), not with reactivity to interpersonal stressors (r = -.02, p = .62), but was associated with lower reactivity to tasks with combinations of cognitive, interpersonal, and physical challenges (r = -.12, p = .029). Accounting for publication bias revealed a significant association between SES and reactivity in the opposite direction of hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular recovery from acute stress, but not reactivity to stress, may be a key pathway between low SES and risk for cardiovascular diseases. Heterogeneity in effect size and direction, challenges related to working across temporal dynamics, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Boylan et al. (Tue,) conducted a meta-analysis in Cardiovascular responses to psychological stress (n=14,617). Socioeconomic status was evaluated on Cardiovascular reactivity to stress (r = 0.008, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.04). Socioeconomic status was not significantly associated with cardiovascular reactivity to stress (r = 0.008; 95% CI -0.02 to 0.04), although higher SES was associated with better recovery from stress.
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