Conceptual Framework for Studying Alcohol Intake and Blood Pressure on Historically Black College and University Campuses

• NCJ Number: 229333
• Journal: Journal of Drug Education Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: 2009 Pages: 149-165
• Author(s): Lori Carter-Edwards, Ph.D.; Dionne C. Godette, Ph.D.; Sumitra Shantakumar White, Ph.D.; William Tyson, Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 0060224U; R01 DK64986; P60AA013759-02s2
• Sponsoring Agency: W.K. Kellogg Foundation; US Dept of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; American Heart Assoc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical); Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After reviewing the relevant literature on the link between alcohol and blood pressure, this study proposes a conceptual framework that links socioenvironmental factors, stress, and alcohol consumption at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the context of elevated blood pressure among young Blacks.

Abstract

The research reviewed indicates that the pattern of the relationship between alcohol intake and blood pressure is either "J"- shaped or "U"-shaped. These patterns of association indicate that nondrinkers can have higher mean blood pressures than moderate alcohol drinkers, and heavy drinkers may have mean blood pressures similar to nondrinkers (U-shaped). It may also mean that heavy drinkers have markedly higher mean blood pressures than light to moderate drinkers (J-shape). Blacks are at greater risk than Whites for hypertension (high blood pressure) related to alcohol consumption, according to reviewed research, but it is unclear whether this risk is linked to a variation in physiology or variation in some other social determinant of drinking behavior or elevated blood pressure. Based on the literature review, this study presents a socioenvironmental model that displays group and institutional level factors that may contribute to, or inhibit, excessive alcohol consumption at HBCUs and, ultimately, elevated blood pressure among Black college students. From a socioenvironmental perspective, environmental factors may be mediated by or jointly related to individual factors, which serve as preludes to, or effect modifiers of environmental predictors of drinking. Factors that inhibit stressors that lead to excessive alcohol intake (e.g., religious affiliation, positive support networks, and HBCU infrastructures that promote abstinence) may act as social buffers for stress-induced, excessive alcohol intake. Buffers for alcohol intake among Blacks at HBCUs may be critical for understanding patterns of alcohol intake as well as abstinence. 1 figure and 78 references