Abstract P123: Moderation of Associations Between Lifetime Racial Discrimination and Cardiometabolic Health by Physical Activity in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Abstract

Introduction: Racial discrimination is associated with poorer cardiometabolic health. Whether physical activity can buffer these adverse health effects is unknown. We hypothesized that greater discrimination would be associated with poorer cardiometabolic health, but associations would be blunted with higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Methods: This was an analysis of 2,129 CARDIA participants. Perceived race discrimination was reported at baseline (2000-2001) and categorized as none, moderate, or high for Black participants and none or any for White participants. Different categorization was used to account for the low percentage of White participants reporting discrimination. Health markers including blood pressure (BP), cholesterol (total, HDL-C, LDL-C), HbA1c, and C-reactive protein were measured at baseline, 5, 10, and 15 years. MVPA was measured using an accelerometer at 5-year follow-up. Race stratified mixed effects linear regression examined the main effect of race specific discrimination with health markers. Moderation by MVPA was examined by its product with discrimination in each model. Main effect estimates were computed using linear predictions at the mean and ± 1 SD of MVPA if the interaction term was p<0.10. Results: Participants were 58% female, 40% black, and 45.3 ± 3.5 years of age at baseline. Contrary to our hypothesis, race discrimination was not significantly associated with health markers in Black or White participants. Significant interactions are presented in the Figure . Among Black participants, high discrimination was associated with higher HbA1c at higher MVPA (+1 SD) only. Conclusions: Perceived race discrimination was not associated with cardiometabolic health among Black or White participants though associations with HbA1c among Black participants may depend on MVPA levels in an unexpected direction. Future studies should further examine MVPA and additional factors which may be related to the health effects of discrimination among minoritized groups.