Police-related stress may affect heart health in black women – study

Police-related stress is linked to markers of cardiovascular risk in Black women in the US, a study suggests.

The research found the association was most pronounced for Black women concerned about potential interactions between their children and police.

The study recruited 422 Black women aged 30 to 46 in the US and measured the thickness of the inner layers of their carotid artery (which supplies blood to the brain), called intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of artery wall thickening linked to heart risk.

Researchers at North Carolina State University classified participants into three groups based on their experiences with law enforcement, concerns about their own future interactions with police and concerns about their children’s potential encounters.

Women who reported high concern about their children’s interactions with police had thicker artery walls than women who had personally experienced police harassment but had no concerns for children.

Lori Hoggard is assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State University and corresponding author.

Hoggard said: “There’s a substantial body of work that suggests stress associated with police brutality has significant adverse health effects on Black people in the US, but the bulk of that work has focused on Black men.

“We wanted to see if there were associations between police-related stress and adverse health risks in Black women.

“One key takeaway here is the role that concern for children plays.

“Women in the No Child Vigilance-High Personal Exposure group, who had experienced first-hand harassment at the hands of law enforcement, had lower IMT thickness than either of the other two groups.

“In other words, even women who had not experienced police harassment, but did have a moderate or high level of concern for how law enforcement might interact with their kids, had thicker IMT measurements than women who had experienced police harassment but did not have concern for children.”

The researchers accounted for age, income and other demographic and medical variables.

Hoggard added: “This study can only show correlation, not causation, but it suggests that the stress caused by worrying about their children’s interactions with police may be greater than the stress that Black women are experiencing with regard to their own potential interactions with police.

“Black women generally have higher rates of cardiovascular disease than their counterparts, and are diagnosed with these health problems earlier.

“This study raises the question of whether vigilance for their children may be a significant contributing factor. That question merits additional research moving forward.

“These findings also underscore the importance of developing policy solutions that can help address the underlying challenges that contribute to these concerns and related stress.”