Introduction
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, causing one in every five female deaths, and high blood pressure is a precursor to CVD. Approximately half a million people attend the emergency departments with complications arising from substance use, many of which are concerned with cardiovascular events. The higher the number of substances used, the greater the risk of cardiovascular heart diseases; this association is even stronger among women than men. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which women's substance-related behavior impacts high blood pressure, which in turn is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the US.
Methods
This cross-sectional study used the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine the relationship between having blood pressure and women who smoke and engage in binge drinking. Women who responded yes, yes during pregnancy and were told borderline high or pre-hypertensive to the question of "ever been told by a doctor, nurse or another health professional that you have high blood pressure” were categorized as having high blood pressure. Those who responded no, don’t know/not sure, and refused were considered as not having high blood pressure. Smoking and binge drinking were the two key independent variables for this study. Women were categorized into 4-level smoker status: everyday smoker, someday smoker, former smoker, and non-smoker. Binge drinkers were women who takes four or more drinks on one occasion, with responses being "yes, no or don't know/refused/missing.” A chi-square test for independence was examined to determine the association between having high blood pressure and smoking or binge drinking. Multivariable regression analysis was also performed to account for other factors (such as age, race, educational attainment, income, body mass index and blood cholesterol) potentially associated with high blood pressure among women.
Results
Approximately 418, 264 individuals responded to the survey items. Among respondents are 227,706 women, who are the study population of interest. The women included in this study are 18-34, 35-64, and above 65 years old. Among the study population, 33% reported having high blood pressure with no record of high blood pressure, amongst 67%. Among women who reported binge drinking, 22.9% reported high blood pressure compared to 34.6% of women who did not binge drink (p=
Conclusion
This study found that substance abuse was not associated with having high blood pressure. It is possible that women with high blood pressure quit or reduced these behaviors due to a high blood pressure diagnosis. Notwithstanding the high prevalence of high blood pressure and substance use, further research is needed to examine this association among women overall and subpopulations at high risk. This research should support prioritizing interventions and informing public health programs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1890 |
| Date | 06 April 2022 |
| Creators | Adebayo-Abikoye, Esther, Khoury, Amal, Hale, Nathan |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum & Jay S. Boland Undergraduate Research Symposium |
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