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Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine logoLink to Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
. 2001 Mar;78(1):125–140. doi: 10.1093/jurban/78.1.125

Risk factor distribution among sociodemographically diverse African American adults

Ken Resnicow 1,✉, Terry Wang 1, William N Dudley 1, Alice Jackson 1, J’asjit S Ahluwalia 3, Tom Baranowski 4, Ronald L Braithwaite 1
PMCID: PMC3456206  PMID: 11368192

Abstract

Because African Americans tend to have lower socioeconomic status (SES) than whites and numerous health indicators are related to SES variables, it is important when examining between-group differences in health indices to account for SES differences. This studyexamined the effects of income and education on several biologic and behavioral risk factors in a sample of sociodemographicallydiverse African American adults. Approximately 1,000 African American adults (aged 18–87) were recruited from 14 churches with predominantlyblack membership to participate in a nutrition education intervention. Demographics, height, weight, blood pressure, self-reported cigarette and alcohol use, self-reported diet byfood frequencyquestionnaire, serum carotenoids, serum total cholesterol, and nutrition knowledge were assessed. The association of these risk factors were examined byfour levels of education and income. For men, bodymass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, dailyintake of fruits and vegetables, serum carotenoids, heavyalcohol use, or exercise were not associated significantlywith income or education using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Past month alcohol use and nutrition knowledge were associated positivelywith education, but not income. For women, bodymass index and smoking were associated inverselywith income, but not with education. Blood pressure, total cholesterol, intake of fruits and vegetables, heavyalcohol use, and exercise were not associated with either income or education using ANOVA., Serum carotenoids, any 30-dayalcohol use, and nutrition knowledge were associated positivelywith both income and education. Results using linear regression generallywere similar for men and women, although a few more variables were associated significantlywith SES compared to ANOVA analyses. Several health indicators that have been associated with socioeconomic variables in whites were not associated or onlyweaklyassociated in this diverse sample of African Americans. One interpretation of these findings is that SES factors mayfunction differentlyamong blacks and whites.

Keywords: Blacks, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Ethnicity, Sociodemographics

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