Preliminary insights into the role of discrimination and stress in shaping vascular function in Black women

Introduction: Racial discrimination and other constructs of social determinants of health (SDOH) induce chronic stress. These conditions are associated with poorer health outcomes including elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) secondary to numerous factors including reductions in vascular health. Black women specifically have high exposure to racial discrimination and other negative constructs of SDOH and consequently also have the highest rate of CVD and associated morbidity and mortality. In this study, was investigated the impact of perceived ethnic discrimination, perceived stress, individual coping mechanisms, and adverse childhood experiences. The results offer valuable insights into how these factors collectively influence vascular function and thus future CVD risk in Black women. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that indices linked with elevated psychosocial stress, racial discrimination, and SDOH would be negatively associated with a well-validated index of peripheral vascular function (i.e. brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD)). We also hypothesized that these variables would be associated with elevated arterial blood pressure. Methods: As part of this ongoing study, data have been collected from 23 Black women (Age: 30±9 years; BMI: 33±9 kg/m 2 ). Demographic and psychological information were asked using well validated one-time survey questionnaires; perceived ethnic discrimination (PEDQ), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), John Henry Active Coping Scale (JHACR), and perceived stress levels (PSS) prior to starting of the experiments. Peripheral vascular function/health was assessed as FMD in the brachial artery, using established methodology, following a period of ischemia induced by suprasystolic cuff occlusion. Additionally, blood pressure was recorded using the Aktiia wristband and its associated mobile application, to track readings both daytime and nighttime. Results: JHACR scores were consistently high among all participants, whereas other psychosocial measures were more evenly distributed across categories, with a relatively balanced number of participants in each category. Group average FMD was 5.6±2.6%, with no significant associations observed across ACES, PSS, JHACR, and PEDQ categories ( p> 0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusion: Although no significant associations were observed in this study, the distribution of participants across survey categories underscores the need for a larger sample size to fully understand the relationship between these factors and cardiovascular function in Black women. Furthermore, while the surveys assessed perceived stress over a lifetime, considering measures of daily stress would provide deeper insights into these relationships and their impact on vascular health. This study is funded by American Heart Association, 23CDA1050513 (PL: Liao). This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.