Abstract Body: Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death among women in the U.S, with an increased risk among Latinas. One-third of Latinas report experiences of racism and discrimination in the U.S. Psychological stress has been demonstrated to worsen CVD risk factors such as blood pressure, insulin resistance, and adverse lipid profile. However, there is limited consensus surrounding the relationship between racism-related stress and subclinical CVD in the Latina population. Thus, this study examines the relationship between sociocultural stress and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), a subclinical marker of CVD, in midlife Latinas.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using baseline data from 31 women enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal study of midlife Latinas. Participants were eligible if they self-identified as Latinas between the ages of 40 and 60 years old and were perimenopausal. Women with a history of CVD, or moderate to major depression (PH9 >10) were excluded. Racism-related stress was assessed using the Hispanic Women Social Stress Scale. Physical and anthropometric measures (e.g., weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid profile) were collected during a clinical exam. Sociodemographic factors and medical history were self-reported using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. cfPWV was assessed using the Vicorder® device. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations were conducted (α = 0.1).

Results: Participants were on average aged 47.1 ± 4.1 years, with 71% reporting having been born outside of the continental United States. At baseline, average cfPWV was 5.4 ± 0.7 m/s. Respondents had an average of 26.3 ± 25.1 on the Hispanic Social Stressor Scale (0-120) and over half (n=16) reported an experience of racism. When considering the total sample, cfPWV did not differ between women who reported at least one experience of racism (5.39 ± 0.73 m/s) compared to those who had no experience (5.75 ± 0.71 m/s). Among women who reported an experience of racism, greater severity of stress was positively correlated to cfPWV (r=0.58, p=0.02).

Conclusions: In this cross-sectional analysis of midlife Latinas, the severity of racism-related stress was positively correlated to arterial stiffness. Findings support prior reports that greater exposure to racism worsens CVD risk. Additional data are necessary to further explore the impact of racism on CVD risk in this population.