The ongoing goals of our research program are: (a) to establish the early emergence of behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease in children and adolescents; and (b)to specify their antecedents and consequences. Our current project, which tested the influence of gender and ethnicity, found that behavioral and biological risk factors cluster together in children, resulting in a substantial overall burden among some children that is not apparent by studying the development of individual risk factors alone. Building on our current findings, we propose that the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity are intertwined, and are partly due to greater exposure to environmental stress, especially social conflict. Repeated exposure to social conflict encourages the development of a propensity to be vigilant for possible threat, to view ambiguous situations as potentially harmful, to mistrust others, and to exhibit elevated CV reactivity during potential threat. We suggest that these propensities become more automatic and repeatable with adolescent development, leading to stable dispositions. Dispositions, in turn, may influence markers of CV risk, namely total blood pressure burden, aortic stiffness, and left ventricular mass. These were chosen to taken advantage of recent technological improvements and advances in understanding the development of CV risk. To test these proposed relationships, we will recruit 100 adolescent African American and 100 Whites, with approximately equivalent numbers of upper and lower SES based on parental education and occupation within each ethnic group. Each participant will complete a psychophysiological laboratory protocol, questionnaires, carotid scan and echocardiogram in a single morning session, and two school days of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring accompanied by diary ratings of stressful circumstances at the time of each measure. This design allows us to test the influence of SBS and social stress on the development of behavioral risk factors and to test the extent to which behavioral risk factors mediate associations between sociodemographic factors, stress, and CV markers in adolescents.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL025767-23
Application #
6526657
Study Section
Behavioral Medicine Study Section (BEM)
Program Officer
Czajkowski, Susan
Project Start
1980-04-01
Project End
2003-08-31
Budget Start
2002-09-01
Budget End
2003-08-31
Support Year
23
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$338,252
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
053785812
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Jennings, J Richard; Matthews, Karen A; Pardini, Dustin et al. (2018) Heart rate and hurtful behavior from teens to adults: Paths to adult health. Dev Psychopathol :1-13
Jakubowski, Karen P; Hall, Martica H; Lee, Laisze et al. (2017) Temporal Relationships Between Napping and Nocturnal Sleep in Healthy Adolescents. Behav Sleep Med 15:257-269
Matthews, Karen A; Pantesco, Elizabeth J M (2016) Sleep characteristics and cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents: an enumerative review. Sleep Med 18:36-49
Matthews, Karen A; Hall, Martica H; Cousins, Jennifer et al. (2016) Getting a Good Night's Sleep in Adolescence: Do Strategies for Coping With Stress Matter? Behav Sleep Med 14:367-77
Jakubowski, Karen P; Hall, Martica H; Marsland, Anna L et al. (2016) Is daytime napping associated with inflammation in adolescents? Health Psychol 35:1298-1306
Hall, Martica H; Lee, Laisze; Matthews, Karen A (2015) Sleep duration during the school week is associated with C-reactive protein risk groups in healthy adolescents. Sleep Med 16:73-8
Troxel, Wendy M; Lee, Laisze; Hall, Martica et al. (2014) Single-parent family structure and sleep problems in black and white adolescents. Sleep Med 15:255-61
Matthews, Karen A; Hall, Martica; Dahl, Ronald E (2014) Sleep in healthy black and white adolescents. Pediatrics 133:e1189-96
Midei, Aimee J; Matthews, Karen A (2014) Positive attributes protect adolescents from risk for the metabolic syndrome. J Adolesc Health 55:678-83
Burford, Tanisha I; Low, Carissa A; Matthews, Karen A (2013) Night/day ratios of ambulatory blood pressure among healthy adolescents: roles of race, socioeconomic status, and psychosocial factors. Ann Behav Med 46:217-26

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