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. 2024 Aug:143:107600.
doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107600. Epub 2024 Jun 6.

Rationale, design, and participant characteristics of the FAITH! Heart Health+ study: An exploration of the influence of the social determinants of health, stress, and structural racism on African American cardiovascular health

Mathias Lalika  1 , Carrie R McCoy  2 , Clarence Jones  3 , Irina Bancos  4 , Lisa A Cooper  5 , Sharonne N Hayes  6 , Matthew P Johnson  7 , Iftikhar J Kullo  8 , Ashok Kumbamu  9 , Peter A Noseworthy  10 , Christi A Patten  11 , Ravinder Singh  12 , Chung-Il Wi  13 , LaPrincess C Brewer  14
Affiliations

Rationale, design, and participant characteristics of the FAITH! Heart Health+ study: An exploration of the influence of the social determinants of health, stress, and structural racism on African American cardiovascular health

Mathias Lalika et al. Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Background: African Americans (AAs) face cardiovascular health (CVH) disparities linked to systemic racism. The 2020 police killing of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated adverse psychosocial factors affecting CVH outcomes among AAs. This manuscript describes the study protocol and participant characteristics in an ancillary study exploring the relationship between biopsychosocial factors and CVH among AAs.

Methods: Using a community-based participatory approach, a mixed-methods ancillary study of 58 AA participants from an overarching randomized control trial (RCT) was conducted. Baseline RCT health assessments (November 2020) provided sociodemographic, medical, and clinical data. Subsequent health assessments (February-December 2022) measured sleep quality, psychosocial factors (e.g., high-effort coping), biomarkers (e.g., cortisol), and cardiovascular diagnostics (e.g., cardio-ankle vascular index). CVH was assessed using the American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 (LS7) (range 0 to 14, poor to ideal) and Life's Essential 8 (LE8) scores (range 0 to 100, low to high). Correlations between these scores will be examined. Focus group discussions via videoconferencing (March to April 2022) assessed psychosocial and structural barriers, along with the impact of COVID-19 and George Floyd's killing on daily life.

Results: Participants were predominantly female (67%), with a mean age of 54.6 [11.9] years, high cardiometabolic risk (93% had overweight/obesity and 70% hypertension), and moderate LE8 scores (mean 57.4, SD 11.5).

Conclusion: This study will enhance understanding of the associations between biopsychosocial factors and CVH among AAs in Minnesota. Findings may inform risk estimation, patient care, and healthcare policies to address CVD disparities in marginalized populations.

Keywords: African Americans; Cardiovascular health; Health promotion; Psychosocial factors; Social determinants of health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. CONSORT diagram, Heart Health+ Study
FAITH indicates Fostering African-American Improvement in Total Health; HH, Heart Health.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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