Abstract P149: Police Contact in Adolescence and Healthy Lifestyle Patterns During the Transition to Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Background: Considerable work finds that adverse childhood experiences may predispose cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. While youth contact with police is an increasingly common early life adversity with known health impacts, it remains understudied in cardiovascular research. This prospective study investigated whether encounters with police in adolescence were associated with CVD-related lifestyle factors during the transition to adulthood. Methods: Data came from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development and Transition to Adulthood Supplements (N=2,361). In 2002 and 2007, participants aged 10-19y reported how often they were stopped and questioned by the police in the past 6 months (never, once, 2+ times). In 2005-2019, biennial surveys were completed from age 18-28y assessing 5 healthy lifestyle factors: body mass index 18.5-25 kg/m 2 , 8-11h of sleep per night for those ≤19y or 6-9h of sleep per night for those ≥20y, non-smoking, no binge drinking, and engaging in regular physical activity. Participants who reported having these factors at each available follow-up assessment were defined as sustaining healthy patterns over time. Poisson regression models evaluated associations between police contact and sustained healthy patterns of both individual lifestyle factors and multiple factors (range=0-5). Sensitivity analyses excluded youth who reported being arrested by police. Differences by race and gender were evaluated via interaction terms. Results: In the overall sample, 9% of youth were stopped by police once and 9% twice or more. Separately, 5% reported a history of arrest. Both police stops and arrests were more common among Black youth (1 stop: 11%, 2+ stops: 11%, arrest: 8%) than White youth (1 stop: 7%, 2+ stops: 7%, arrest: 2%). After adjusting for study covariates, frequent police stops were associated with a lower likelihood of maintaining healthy sleep patterns (IRR 1 stop =0.79, 95% CI=0.52, 1.20; IRR 2+ stops = 0.42, 95% CI=0.23, 0.77), abstaining from binge drinking in young adulthood (IRR 1 stop =0.86, 95% CI=0.70, 1.04; IRR 2+ stops =0.74, 95% CI=0.59, 0.92), and sustaining healthy patterns of multiple lifestyle factors (IRR 1 stop =0.91, 95% CI=0.75, 1.09; IRR 2+ stops =0.71, 95% CI=0.58, 0.88). Associations with other lifestyle factors were comparable in magnitude but characterized by wide confidence intervals. Nearly identical associations were observed when excluding youth with a history of arrest. Tests for interaction found no evidence of moderation by race or gender. Conclusions: Youth contact with police is related to unhealthy lifestyle patterns during the transition to adulthood, which may have important consequences for cardiovascular health across the lifespan. Given the disproportionate burden of police contact experienced by Black youth, future research should consider its potential role as an early driver of CVD disparities.