Perceived Discrimination and Hypertension Among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study

OBJECTIVES: Using Jackson Heart Study data, we examined whether perceived discrimination was associated with prevalent hypertension in African Americans. METHODS: Everyday discrimination, lifetime discrimination, burden of discrimination, and stress from discrimination were examined among 4939 participants aged 35 to 84 years (women = 3123; men = 1816). We estimated prevalence ratios of hypertension by discrimination, and adjusted for age, gender, socioeconomic status, and risk factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension was 64.0% in women and 59.7% in men. After adjustment for age, gender, and socioeconomic status, lifetime discrimination and burden of discrimination were associated with greater hypertension prevalence (prevalence ratios for highest vs lowest quartile were 1.08 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02, 1.15 and 1.09 95% CI = 1.02,1.16 for lifetime discrimination and burden of discrimination, respectively). Associations were slightly weakened after adjustment for body mass index and behavioral factors. No associations were observed for everyday discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: Further understanding the role of perceived discrimination in the etiology of hypertension may be beneficial in eliminating hypertension disparities.