Financial Stress, Coronary Heart Disease Linked in African-Americans

MONDAY, Jan. 28, 2019 — Financial stress may be associated with coronary heart disease among African-Americans, according to a study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Kaitlyn E. Moran, M.P.H., from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues used data from the Jackson Heart Study to examine the correlation between stress associated with financial hardship and incident coronary heart disease in African-Americans. Financial stress was categorized into four levels: did not experience financial stress, no stress, mild stress, and moderate-to-high stress. Data were included for 2,256 individuals.

The researchers found that after they controlled for demographics, socioeconomic status, access to care, and traditional clinical risk factors, participants with moderate-to-high versus no financial stress were more likely to have incident coronary heart disease (hazard ratio, 2.42; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.13 to 5.17). However, in a model adjusting for depression, smoking status, and diabetes, the correlation between financial stress and coronary heart disease was no longer significant (hazard ratio, 1.99; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.91 to 4.39).

“The results suggest the potential importance of identifying and addressing financial stress as a strategy for reducing differential risks for coronary heart disease,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Posted: January 2019

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