Lifetime racial/ethnic discrimination and ambulatory blood pressure: The moderating effect of age

Objective: To determine whether the relationships of lifetime discrimination to ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) varied as a function of age in a sample of Black and Latino(a) adults ages 19 - 65. Method: Participants were 607 Black (n = 318) and Latino(a) (n = 289) adults (49% female) who completed the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version (PEDQ-CV), which assesses lifetime exposure to racism/ethnic discrimination. They were outfitted with an ABP monitor to assess systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) across a 24-hr period. Mixed-level modeling was conducted to examine potential interactive effects of lifetime discrimination and age to 24-hr, daytime, and nighttime ABP after adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, personality and life stress characteristics, and substance consumption covariates (e.g., smoking, alcohol). Results: There were significant interactions of Age × Lifetime Discrimination on 24-hr and daytime DBP (ps ≤ .04), and in particular significant interactions for the Social Exclusion component of Lifetime Discrimination. Post hoc probing of the interactions revealed the effects of Lifetime Discrimination on DBP were seen for older, but not younger participants. Lifetime discrimination was significantly positively associated with nocturnal SBP, and these effects were not moderated by age. All associations of Lifetime Discrimination to ABP remained significant controlling for recent exposure to discrimination as well as all other covariates. Conclusions: Exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination across the life course is associated with elevated ABP in middle to older aged Black and Latino(a) adults. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms linking discrimination to ABP over the life course.