Worrying About Police Interactions Linked to Heart Health Risks in Black Women, Study Finds
A new study reveals a significant correlation between stress stemming from concerns about police brutality and harassment, and increased cardiovascular health risks among Black women in the United States. The research highlights that anxiety over potential police interactions involving their children is particularly pronounced, demonstrating a potentially greater impact than concerns about their own encounters with law enforcement.
The study, published in the journal Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, builds upon existing research demonstrating the adverse health effects of police-related stress on Black communities, but specifically focuses on a demographic often underrepresented in such investigations. “There’s a substantial body of work that suggests stress associated with police brutality has significant adverse health effects on Black people in the US—but the bulk of that work has focused on Black men,” explains Lori Hoggard, a corresponding author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State University. “We wanted to see if there were associations between police-related stress and adverse health risks in Black women.”
Researchers recruited 422 Black women between the ages of 30 and 46, gathering data on their experiences with law enforcement, anxieties about future personal interactions, and—crucially—their worries regarding their children’s potential interactions with police. Participants were then categorized into three distinct groups based on their responses.
The largest group, comprising 235 women, was classified as “High Child Vigilance-High Personal Exposure.” These individuals reported significant concern for their children’s safety in interactions with police and were also relatively likely to have personally experienced law enforcement harassment. A second group of 115 women, labeled “No Child Vigilance-High Personal Exposure,” had either no children or expressed minimal concern about their children’s interactions with law enforcement, but had experienced harassment themselves. Finally, a group of 72 women, designated “Moderate Child Vigilance-Low Self Vigilance-Low Personal Exposure,” reported moderate concern for their children, less concern for themselves, and were less likely to have experienced police harassment.
To assess cardiovascular risk, researchers utilized ultrasound technology to measure carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) – the thickness of the inner layers of the carotid artery. A thicker IMT is indicative of increased risk for cardiovascular problems, serving as a key biomarker in the study.
The findings revealed a surprising nuance. According to Hoggard, “Women in the No Child Vigilance-High Personal Exposure group, who had experienced first-hand harassment at the hands of law enforcement, had lower IMT thickness than either of the other two groups.” This suggests that the stress associated with worrying about a child’s potential encounter with police may be more detrimental to cardiovascular health than having personally experienced harassment. Women who had not experienced police harassment but expressed moderate or high concern for their children’s safety exhibited thicker IMT measurements than those who had experienced harassment but did not share the same level of concern for their children.
Researchers controlled for factors such as age, income, and other demographic and medical variables, confirming that these elements did not account for the observed correlations. While the study establishes a correlation, it cannot definitively prove causation. However, the data strongly suggests that the stress of anticipating potential harm to children may be a significant contributor to cardiovascular risk in Black women.
The comparable IMT thickness observed in both the “High Child Vigilance” and “Moderate Child Vigilance” groups raises questions about a potential “threshold level of stress” linked to this cardiovascular risk marker. Given that Black women generally have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and are diagnosed earlier than their counterparts, this research suggests that constant vigilance regarding their children’s safety may be a contributing factor. “This study raises the question of whether vigilance for their children may be a significant contributing factor. That question merits additional research moving forward,” Hoggard stated.
The study’s findings underscore the urgent need for policy solutions that address the systemic challenges contributing to these concerns and the resulting stress. “These findings also underscore the importance of developing policy solutions that can help address the underlying challenges that contribute to these concerns and related stress,” Hoggard concluded.
The research was conducted in collaboration with researchers from Emory University, Northwestern University, The University of Texas at Austin, Drexel University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Funding for the study was provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
