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Objective: Poorer health profiles among African American men throughout the life course evince greater rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and significantly earlier mortality compared with other groups. Despite growing emphasis on identifying how psychosocial factors influence disparate disease risk, little of this research has focused intently on African American men.Methodology: Using hierarchical linear regression, we explored the additive influence of stress, depression, and perceived control on pulse pressure, an established marker of CVD risk, in a sample (N = 153) of African American men (mean age = 66.73 ± 9.29) from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging (BSBA).Results: After accounting for age and health status indicators, perceived control emerged as a significant predictor of pulse pressure.Discussion: These findings suggest that greater belief in one's own efficacy is a protective factor for cardiovascular health among African American men. Future research should examine whether enhancing perceived control can have an appreciable impact on the immense CVD burden in this and other at-risk populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Little is known about the relationship between family longevity, stress, and CVD in African Americans.Methodology: Data consisted of 3274 participants aged ≥ 50 years with information on parental living status, the three indicators of stress, and cardiovascular health from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS).Results: Those with both parents dead had significantly fewer life events than those with mother alive but father dead and those with both parents alive. Controlling for age, sex, and education, there were significant main effects for the number of life events, as well as the three parental living status variables in comparison to the both dead category. There is evidence for mediation with life events and weekly stress events, but not with global stress.Discussion: The results show that there is a pattern on longevity in African American families that intersects with their stress experiences. Further examination of how generational patterns of stress are passed down is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goal of our study was to examine how Big Five personality factors predict variability in self-rated health in a sample of older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging.Methods: Personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, and self-rated health was assessed by the Health Problems Checklist.Participants: The study sample had 202 women and 87 men. Ages ranged from 49 to 90 years (M = 67.2 years, SD = 8.55), and average years of formal education was 10.8 (SD = 3.3).Results: Multiple linear regressions showed that neuroticism and extraversion were significant regression predictors of self-rated health, after controlling for demographic factors.Conclusions: These findings suggest individual personality traits may influence health ratings, behaviors, and decision-making among older African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Little is known about the relationship between family longevity, stress, and CVD in African Americans.Methodology: Data consisted of 3274 participants aged ≥ 50 years with information on parental living status, the three indicators of stress, and cardiovascular health from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS).Results: Those with both parents dead had significantly fewer life events than those with mother alive but father dead and those with both parents alive. Controlling for age, sex, and education, there were significant main effects for the number of life events, as well as the three parental living status variables in comparison to the both dead category. There is evidence for mediation with life events and weekly stress events, but not with global stress.Discussion: The results show that there is a pattern on longevity in African American families that intersects with their stress experiences. Further examination of how generational patterns of stress are passed down is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goal of our study was to examine how Big Five personality factors predict variability in self-rated health in a sample of older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging. Methods: Personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, and selfrated health was assessed by the Health Problems Checklist. Participants: The study sample had 202 women and 87 men. Ages ranged from 49 to 90 years (M=67.2 years, SD=8.55), and average years of formal education was 10.8 (SD=3.3). Results: Multiple linear regressions showed that neuroticism and extraversion were significant regression predictors of self-rated health, after controlling for demographic factors. Conclusions: These findings suggest individual personality traits may influence health ratings, behaviors, and decision-making among older African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rates of high blood pressure among African Americans, as a group, are the highest in the world. The implications for higher average blood pressure include complications for many major chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Less well studied is the effect of blood pressure on the cognitive functioning of African Americans. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of blood pressure on memory measures in a sample of adult African Americans. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 361 African American adults (mean age 61.50 years, standard deviation 9.39 years). We found significant correlations between systolic blood pressure and most cognitive measures but only for one of the measures and diastolic blood pressure. Regressions revealed significant effects for systolic blood pressure on Digit Symbol, Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status, and Immediate Recall on the Wechsler Logical Memory test. These findings suggest that blood pressure is a source of individual variability in cognitive aging among African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a study which examined the effects of blood pressure on the memory of older African Americans. Results of the study, which gathered information from 631 African American adults, showed links between levels of systolic blood pressure and cognitive functioning and the importance of blood pressure in aging and health processes.