Abstract P657: Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Arterial Stiffness: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: The association of perceived discrimination (PD) and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk has not been established, limiting our understanding of the importance of PD to CVD pathology. Purpose: With respect to PD and pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial stiffness and subclinical CVD risk, this scoping review aimed to: (i) identify and synthesize the available research, and (ii) identify research gaps and make recommendations for future research. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that greater PD would be associated with greater (worse) PWV. Methods: All original research was eligible if it included adults (≥18 years) and co-measurement of PD and PWV. Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, SPORTDiscuss, and CINALH+) were searched up to June 28 th , 2022. Results: We identified 419 articles, of which 58 were duplicates, and 355 were irrelevant. We reviewed the full text of six articles. Three articles evaluated the same cohort, so two were excluded to minimize confounding, and another for lacking a measure of PD. As summarized in Table 1, a total of three observational (one longitudinal) studies were identified from Brazil, the UK, and the US. In the UK and Brazil studies, PD was associated with greater (worse) PWV. The Brazil study also reported that Black and Brown adults had greater odds of high PWV (>10 m/s) compared to the reference group and to those in the same racial/ethnic group without PD. For the US study, PD was significantly associated with PWV in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) females only. Conclusion: There was a trend of a positive association between PD and greater (worse) PWV. In the US, the positive association was evident only for NHB females, suggesting sex may impact the effect of PD on PWV. Future studies should focus on characterizing the effect of PD by sex and consider additional factors like intersectionality or coping mechanisms that may influence the association and predispose certain populations to added CVD risk.