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The Association Between Perceived Stress and Hypertension Among Asian Americans: Does Social Support and Social Network Make a Difference?

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Abstract

Prior research suggests that stress plays role in the etiology and progression of hypertension. To lend a more accurate depiction of the underlying mechanisms between stress and hypertension, this study aims to assess the associations between perceived stress and hypertension across varying levels of social support and social network among Asian Americans. We conducted a cross-sectional study using data on 530 Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans recruited from a liver cancer prevention program in the Washington D.C.—Baltimore metropolitan area. Hypertension prevalence was 29.1%. Individuals with high perceived stress were 61% more likely to have hypertension compared to those with low levels of perceived stress (odds ratio 1.61, 95% confidence interval 1.15, 2.46). There was no evidence that social support and social network acted as effect modifiers. Social support had a direct beneficial effect on hypertension, irrespective of whether individuals were under stress. The relationship between perceived stress and hypertension was modified by gender and ethnicity whereby a significant positive association was only observed among male or Chinese participants. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the associations between stress, social support, and hypertension among Asian American subgroups. Findings from the study can be used to develop future stress management interventions, and incorporate culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies into community outreach and education to decrease hypertension risk within the Asian population.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute (R01CA163805; PI: Juon), AND Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives, National Cancer Institute (5P30CA056036-17). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 2242 Valley Drive, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Xiaoxiao Lu, Xin He, Cher M. Dallal & Sunmin Lee

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Hee-Soon Juon

  3. Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, USA

    Ming Qi Wang

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  1. Xiaoxiao Lu
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Correspondence to Xiaoxiao Lu.

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Xiaoxiao Lu, Hee-Soon Juon, Xin He, Cher M Dallal, Ming Qi Wang, and Sunmin Lee declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Table 6 Compare characteristics between analysis sample and excluded sample with missing values
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Lu, X., Juon, HS., He, X. et al. The Association Between Perceived Stress and Hypertension Among Asian Americans: Does Social Support and Social Network Make a Difference?. J Community Health 44, 451–462 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-00612-7

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