New study links caregiving stress to high blood pressure in younger Black women.
New research reveals a link between hypertension and stress from caregiving in younger Black women.
New research uncovers a link between caregiving stress and hypertension in younger Black women.
A recent study published in the American Heart Association Journal Hypertension shows that caregiving stress increases the risk of hypertension in Black women aged 21 to 44. The study, which tracked participants for an average of 7.4 years, found that 43.5% of the participants developed hypertension.
The research team, led by experts at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, found that 51.7% of participants with moderate or high caregiving stress developed hypertension, compared to 40.6% of those with low or no stress. While previous studies have linked caregiving to high blood pressure in middle-aged and older Black women, this connection has been less explored in younger women.
“Our analysis suggests that caregiver stress may play a significant role in the development of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, among Black women of reproductive age,” said Milla Arabadjian, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Foundations of Medicine at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, in a press release.
The study’s findings are especially timely, coming after a recent advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, which noted that parents and caregivers have experienced much higher levels of stress and mental health struggles over the past decade compared to non-caregivers. The study’s authors point out that caregiving is a source of chronic stress, with women, who represent the majority of informal caregivers, being particularly affected.
Black women have been found to have a higher prevalence of hypertension compared to women from other racial and ethnic groups. Among younger Black women with hypertension, the rates of uncontrolled blood pressure are notably high. The study authors emphasize that identifying “addressable” risk factors, like caregiving stress, is essential for creating targeted prevention strategies for this group.
“Given the high lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease, especially among Black women of reproductive age, it’s crucial to better identify the root causes contributing to this strain,” said senior study author Tanya M. Spruill, PhD, associate professor in the departments of Population Health and Medicine at NYU Langone Health.
“If the strain is due to a lack of affordable childcare, connecting individuals to childcare resources could be a solution. If the stress stems from communication challenges with a child or elderly relative, education could be tailored to address that,” added Dr. Spruill, who co-leads the Jackson Heart Study Hypertension Working Group, which provided funding for the current paper.
