Socioeconomic stress and cardiovascular health risks

The purpose of this research is to discover whether socioeconomic stress leads to a greater incidence of cardiovascular health risks. Recent studies have examined the role of sociocultural stress in fat deposition and in cardiovascular risks. These studies show that certain sociocultural stress triggers such as low socioeconomic status and discrimination may lead to greater abdominal obesity, greater overall obesity, and greater cardiovascular health risks. It is hypothesized that as socioeconomic stress increases, abdominal obesity, overall obesity, and cardiovascular health risks will increase. To test this hypothesis, data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) were collected and analyzed. The results of the data analyses show that as income increases, abdominal fat deposition and cardiovascular health risks decrease. This inverse relationship was not matched for overall obesity. Furthermore, individuals pertaining to discriminated racial-ethnic groups were at higher risk for overall obesity and cardiovascular health problems.