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Ethnicity, Perceived Discrimination, and Vascular Reactivity to Phenylephrine

From the San Diego State University & University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, California (K.S.T.); the Departments of Psychiatry (R.A.N., J.E.D.) and Medicine (M.G.Z.), University of California, San Diego, California; and the Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California (V.L.M.).

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Joel E. Dimsdale, MD, UCSD Mail Code 0804, La Jolla, CA 92093-0804. E-mail: jdimsdale{at}ucsd.edu

Objectives: This study examined relationships among ethnicity, perceived discrimination, and vascular reactivity to phenylephrine (PE).

Methods: Seventy-six white patients and 46 black patients were studied at an inpatient clinical research center in response to a bolus intravenous injection of 100 µg PE. Self-report questionnaires assessed perceived discrimination.

Results: After controlling for body surface area, number of cigarettes smoked, and baseline blood pressure, black patients had greater vascular reactivity to PE than white patients (p = .01). There was also a significant relationship between perceived discrimination and diastolic blood pressure responsiveness to PE (p < .05). Path analyses revealed that perceived discrimination mediated the relationship between ethnicity and diastolic pressor responses. Individuals who perceived more discrimination had a larger increase in diastolic blood pressure in response to PE.

Conclusion: These data suggest perceived discrimination is associated with increased blood pressure responsiveness to PE.

Key Words: hypertension • ethnicity • blood pressure • reactivity • perceived discrimination

Abbreviations: BP = blood pressure; BSA = body surface area; HTN = hypertension; CVD = cardiovascular disease; PE = phenylephrine; SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; SEE = Scale of Ethnic Experience.

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