Key result
Low childhood socioeconomic status and harsh family environments predicted increased blood pressure over 10 years directly and indirectly through negative emotionality and health behavior.
Why the study?
Do low childhood socioeconomic status and harsh early family environments predict blood pressure changes over time in young adults?
Cohort (n=2,738)
Do low childhood socioeconomic status and harsh early family environments predict blood pressure changes over time in young adults?
Low childhood socioeconomic status and harsh family environments predict increased blood pressure over time, both directly and indirectly through negative emotionality and health behaviors.
Early adversity linked to rising BP in young adults; hypothesis-generating for interventions on emotionality or behaviors, pending prospective trials.
OBJECTIVE: Low childhood socioeconomic status (CSES) and a harsh early family environment have been linked with health disorders in adulthood. In this study, the authors present a model to help explain these links and relate the model to blood pressure change over a 10-year period in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults sample. DESIGN: Participants (N = 2,738) completed measures of childhood family environment, parental education, health behavior, and adult negative emotionality. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: These variables were used to predict initial systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) and the rate of blood pressure change over 10 years. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling indicated that family environment was related to negative emotions, which in turn predicted baseline DBP and SBP and change in SBP. Parental education directly predicted change in SBP. Although African American participants had higher SBP and DBP and steeper increases over time, multiple group comparisons indicated that the strength of most pathways was similar across race and gender. CONCLUSION: Low CSES and harsh family environments help to explain variability in cardiovascular risk. Low CSES predicted increased blood pressure over time directly and also indirectly through associations with childhood family environment, negative emotionality, and health behavior.
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Lehman et al. (2009) conducted a cohort in Cardiovascular risk (n=2,738). Low childhood socioeconomic status and harsh early family environment was evaluated on Initial systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the rate of blood pressure change over 10 years. Low childhood socioeconomic status and harsh family environments predicted increased blood pressure over 10 years directly and indirectly through negative emotionality and health behavior.
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