The effect of social and biological factors on physiological measures of stress will be examined in non-managerial hotel workers in a rural and a urban region of Hawaii. A large number of hotel-workers are immigrants from the Philippines and they will be the major focus of the study. Filipino-Americans have high prevalence rates of hypertension and high mortality rates from strokes compared with means for the state of Hawaii. Preliminary studies suggest that Filipino immigrants have elevated age- and body mass-adjusted blood pressure during sleep compared with Caucasians, and that Filipinos have differential stress perceptions of some daily activities than do Caucasians and that Filipinos have differential stress perceptions on some daily activities than do Caucasians. This study proposes to add to under understanding of how cultural, social and psychological orientation influence the biological stress response and cardiovascular health of Filipino immigrant hotel workers, and to compare these relationships with those of their Filipino-American (non- migrant) and non-Filipino co-workers The study will investigate the influence of sex, reported mood, job strain, lifestyle incongruity, differing degrees of orientation toward Western versus traditional Filipino (Ilocano) lifestyles, rural-urban contrasts, and other behavioral variability on ambulatory blood pressure and urinary catecholamines measured at work, home and while asleep. The relationship of these factors to cortisol excretion during work and to fasting blood lipid profiles will also be examined. An ecological design is used, with monitoring of physiological measures during a typical work day, and information about the subjects' body size and composition, attitudes toward work and home life, and health histories will be obtained. The research is designed to provide insights into how stress may contribute toward the high hypertension prevalence among Filipinos in Hawaii.
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