It is a well established fact that age, ethnicity, weight, and lifestyle behaviors can affect blood pressure (BP). Co-morbid conditions such as HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets), pre-eclampsia, and... more
It is a well established fact that age, ethnicity, weight, and lifestyle behaviors can affect blood pressure (BP). Co-morbid conditions such as HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets), pre-eclampsia, and previous hypertension diagnosis might also be risks for chronic hypertension among women who have had children. Although parity has been linked to changes in blood pressure in White women, these findings have not been replicated among African-American women. The purpose of this study was to determine if the number of pregnancies urban African-American women have effects BMI and blood pressure readings later in life. Results indicated that women with a previous diagnosis of hypertension had higher SBP and DBP, and a slightly higher BMI than women who had never been diagnosed. Additionally, women with a prior history of hypertension had more children than those without a diagnosis of hypertension. As parity increased, SBP increased. However, DBP decreased...
Research Interests: Nursing, Obesity, Pregnancy, Overweight, Humans, and 8 moreHypertension, Blood Pressure, Female, Body Mass Index, Aged, Middle Aged, Questionnaires, and Parity
Genetic counseling research has been used for diseases such as breast and other cancers, but genetic counseling for hypertension has been understudied. African-American women have the highest prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular... more
Genetic counseling research has been used for diseases such as breast and other cancers, but genetic counseling for hypertension has been understudied. African-American women have the highest prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease of any group in the United States. Because hypertension and related cardiovascular sequela have a profound impact on the health and well being of African-American women, providing genetic counseling for hypertension is important in order to determine risk and to provide early interventions. The purpose of this study is to examine lifestyle changes among urban African-American women following genetic counseling for hypertension as compared to baseline. Specific lifestyle factors include the impact of changes in physical activity, of sodium intake, and of body mass index on systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure. Results of this study indicated that systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings and pulse pressure readings de...
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Introduction. Although African American (AA) women have the highest prevalence of hypertension and many genetic studies have been conducted to examine this disparity, no published studies have investigated their attitudes toward genetic... more
Introduction. Although African American (AA) women have the highest prevalence of hypertension and many genetic studies have been conducted to examine this disparity, no published studies have investigated their attitudes toward genetic testing for hypertension. The purpose of the present study was to use the health belief model as a guide to examine attitudes toward perceived barriers and benefits of genetic testing held by AA multigenerational triads and to determine whether they differed by generation, age, education, or income level. Methods. A descriptive correlational research design were used with 183 African American women and girls from Detroit. Correlations between triad membership, age, income, and education level were examined for association with attitudes toward genetic testing. Results. Increasing age and education were associated with significant differences in attitudes regarding benefits (F[2, 160] = 5.19, P = 0.007, d = 0.06) and awareness (F[2, 160] = 6.49, P = 0...
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing concern in the United States due to its rapidly rising prevalence, particularly among African Americans. Epigenetic DNA methylation markers are becoming important biomarkers of chronic... more
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing concern in the United States due to its rapidly rising prevalence, particularly among African Americans. Epigenetic DNA methylation markers are becoming important biomarkers of chronic diseases such as CKD. To better understand how these methylation markers play a role in kidney function, we measured 26,428 DNA methylation sites in 972 African Americans from the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study. We then evaluated (1) whether epigenetic markers are associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), (2) whether the significantly associated markers are also associated with traditional risk factors and/or novel biomarkers for eGFR, and (3) how much additional variation in eGFR is explained by epigenetic markers beyond established risk factors and biomarkers. The majority of methylation markers most significantly associated with eGFR (24 out of the top 30) appeared to function, at least in part, through pat...