4137 Discrimination, Social Cohesion, and Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the REGARDS Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: This research has two goals. The first is to establish the relationship between hypertension, discrimination, and social cohesion in the general populaiton. The hypotheses for these relationships are: Hypothesis 1: Self-reported discrimination will be positively associated with incidence of hypertension in all REGARDS participants.Hypothesis 2: Self-reported neighborhood cohesion will attenuate the effects of discrimination on the development of hypertension.Hypothesis 3: Increased levels of Self-reported social cohesion will moderate the effects of discrimination on the likelihood of being hypertensive by weakening the relationship between discrimination and the likelihood of being hypertensive. The second goal of this research is examining the the nexus of race and social cohesion, to understand if racial effects exist. The hypotheses for this goal are: Hypothesis 4: Self-reported discrimination will be positively associated with prevalent hypertension in black REGARDS participants over and above the association between discrimination and hypertension in white REGARDS participants.Hypothesis 5: Increased levels of self-reported social cohesion for will not moderate the effects of discrimination on the likelihood of being hypertensive by weakening the relationship between discrimination and the likelihood of being hypertensive as strongly for black REGARDS participants as it does for white REGARDS participants