Primary Submission Category: Biomarkers or biological pathways
Is Police Violence Associated with Cortisol and Inflammatory Markers in Black Women? An Exploratory Analysis
Authors: Latesha K. Harris, Yamnia Cortes, Sirry Alang, Michelle Meyer, Todd Schwartz, Taleah Frazier,
Presenting Author: Latesha Harris*
Background: Black women’s exposure to police violence is a racism-related stressor that may be associated with systemic inflammation, which can contribute to the development and progression of cardiometabolic disease. Yet, to date, no studies have examined the association between police violence exposure and cardiometabolic risk among young Black women. This study aimed to explore the relation of police violence to cortisol levels and inflammatory markers in Black women. We additionally explored the interaction between police violence and inflammatory markers in relation to their combined effect on cardiometabolic risk (CMR).
Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the association between exposure to police violence and cortisol levels and inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, IL-13) among 59 Black women aged 18-40 years in North Carolina. We assessed direct and vicarious exposure to police violence using ten dichotomized items from the Police Practice Inventory. We conducted separate bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses to determine associations between each police violence item and cortisol and inflammatory markers. Additionally, we conducted exploratory analyses of the interaction of inflammation between police violence and a cumulative measure of CMR.
Results: This exploratory study found that women who report exposure to psychological police violence may have lower cortisol and anti-inflammatory markers than women who do not experience psychological police violence. No significant interactions were observed between pro- and anti-inflammatory markers and any of the police violence exposures on CMR.
Conclusions: Inflammation is a key contributor to cardiometabolic disease. Our results add to a growing body of literature on the physiological impact of stress. Future longitudinal studies with a larger sample size are necessary to validate any potential hypotheses generated from this study.