(PS7-C57) Everyday Racial/ethnic Discrimination and High Blood Pressure

Racial and ethnic minorities are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease in relation to their White counterparts. There have been substantial efforts to better understand this phenomenon in recent decades and discrimination has been proposed as a potential underlying mechanism (Brondolo et al., 2009). The current study assesses the relationship between everyday racial/ethnic discrimination and high blood pressure using data from the Health & Retirement Study (HRS) 2016 wave (N = 5,976).  It was hypothesized that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic older adults have higher racial/ethnic discrimination and blood pressure than non-Hispanic Whites. In addition, it was predicted that the relationship between discrimination and blood pressure is stronger for both non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic older adults than non-Hispanic Whites. Hypotheses were tested using multiple independent samples t-tests and Pearson correlations and Fischer z-transformations (Steiger, 1980). The results partially support the first hypothesis. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic older adults report greater discrimination than non-Hispanic Whites (p < .001). Further, non-Hispanic Black older adults have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings than non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics (p < .001). Surprisingly, There was no significant difference in the relationship between discrimination and blood pressure between non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic older adults observed. The implications and limitations of this study are considered in the discussion.