Death of a Parent, Racial Inequities, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Early toMid-adulthood
Dados Bibliográficos
| AUTOR(ES) | |
|---|---|
| AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, The University of Texas at Austin |
| ANO | 2025 |
| TIPO | Artigo |
| PERIÓDICO | Journal of Health and Social Behavior |
| ISSN | 0022-1465 |
| E-ISSN | 2150-6000 |
| EDITORA | JSTOR (United States) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00221465241273870 |
| ADICIONADO EM | 2025-08-18 |
Resumo
Black Americans experience the death of a parent much earlier in the life course than White Americans on average. However, studies have not considered whether the cardiovascular health consequences of early parental death vary by race. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we explore associations between early parental death and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in early to mid-adulthood (N = 4,193). We find that the death of a parent during childhood or adolescence (ages 0–17) or the transition to adulthood (ages 18–27) is associated with increased CVD risk for Black Americans, whereas parental death following the transition to adulthood (ages 28+) undermines cardiovascular health for both Black Americans and White Americans. These findings illustrate how a stress and life course perspective can help inform strategies aimed at addressing both the unequal burden of bereavement and high cardiovascular risk faced by Black Americans.