Characterization of Potential for Relationship between Anxiety and Cardiovascular Health in Different Racial Groups

Abstract

There are a multitude of factors that contribute to cardiovascular (CV) health. Psychosocial factors contribute to CV risk, and anxiety is one of the psychological disorders diagnosed in CV patients. It is unclear whether there is a potential relationship between inflammation and anxiety. PURPOSE: 1) To compare CV health between Caucasian (C) and Mixed-Race (MR) adults, and 2) to explore the relationship between anxiety levels and CV health measures across these populations. This pilot study is the first step in our clinical trial to investigate the relationship between anxiety measures and CV risk factors across racial differences. METHODS: Thirty-two young adults (C: N=16, 22.94±7.4; MR: N=16, 22.813±7.51 yrs) underwent 2 test visits. First, CV health was assessed by fasting glucose, lipids, blood pressure (BP), carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT), body fat (BF) measured by bioelectrical impedance, and flow-mediated dilation (FMD). At the second visit, ECG, clinic BP and VO2max were measured. Anxiety measurements using the DASS-21 scale are ongoing. RESULTS: Pilot data on physiological outcomes show no differences between groups. Compared to C adults, the adults in MR group show a small trend towards having worse CV profiles. In the MR group, we found higher levels of cholesterol (156.4±27.2 vs. 144.2±36.6 mg/dL), BF (31.1±9.7 vs. 28±9.2 %), and lower levels of FMD (7.1±4.3 vs. 8.7±4 %) and VO2max (42.95±8.8 vs 38.65±10.6 ml/kg-min). Within groups, we found significant (p<0.05) race-related relationships between several variables. In C, we found an inverse relationship between IMT and HDL (R=-0.654). In MR, we found an inverse relationship between BF and FMD (R=-0.832), BF and HDL (R=-0.836), and BF and VO2max (R=-0.741). Also, we found direct relationships between BF and glucose (R=0.834) and BF and DBP (R=0.751). Data from DASS-21 is being analyzed between groups. CONCLUSION: We found relationships with BF in the MR group that did not exist in the C group. Considering that literature suggests that young adults of color tend to have higher levels of anxiety, we hypothesize that we will find relationships between anxiety and CV measures in the MR group that are different than that in the C group.