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Race-, Gender-Related Microaggression Linked to Higher Postpartum BP

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 13, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Jan. 10, 2025 -- Experiencing at least one microaggression related to race and gender during or after pregnancy is associated with increased postpartum blood pressure (BP), according to a study published online Jan. 9 in Hypertension.

Teresa Janevic, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and colleagues conducted a prospective postpartum cohort study involving 373 Asian, Black, and Hispanic participants in New York City and Philadelphia. The Gendered Racial Microaggression (GRM) in Obstetrics scale was administered at delivery. Mixed models were used to estimate the associations between GRM and mean postpartum systolic and diastolic BP, measured for three months.

Overall, 4.6, 20.9, and 13.4 percent of participants had chronic hypertension, pregnancy hypertension, and preeclampsia, respectively, comprising a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy subgroup (117 participants). The researchers found that 37.5 percent of participants experienced one or more GRM. Those who experienced one or more GRM versus none had 1.88 and 2.19 mm Hg higher systolic BP from days 1 to 10 and days 11 to 85, respectively. A similar pattern was seen for associations with diastolic BP; associations were stronger in the hypertensive disorder of pregnancy subgroup. Compared with those with neither, participants experiencing GRM and a high Structural Racism Effect Index had 7.55 and 6.03 mm Hg higher systolic and diastolic BP, respectively.

"This work serves as a reminder of the long-term impact that racism can have on one’s overall health," senior author Lisa Levine, M.D., from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, said in a statement. "The magnitude of these types of physiologic changes may become cumulative over time and lead to the inequities we see in many health outcomes."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted January 2025

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