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Hostility and Fasting Glucose in African American Women

From the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Anastasia Georgiades, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Box 3842, Durham, NC 27710. E-mail: georg023{at}mc.duke.edu

Objective: To examine whether the relationship of hostility (HOST) to fasting glucose indices is moderated by sex and race. HOST has been associated with abnormalities in glucose metabolism. Prior studies suggested that this association may be more prevalent in women and in African American (AA) individuals.

Methods: A total of 565 healthy AA and white (W) men and women (mean age = 33 ± 6 years) were assessed. HOST was measured by the 27-item version of the Cook Medley HOST Scale. The moderating effects of sex and race were evaluated for the associations of HOST to fasting glucose, insulin, and insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR).

Results: Analysis showed a moderating effect of sex and race on the association of HOST to fasting glucose (p = .03), but not for insulin (p = .12). Analysis of HOMA-IR revealed a trend (p = .06) for the interaction. Stratified analyses by race and sex revealed a positive association between HOST and fasting glucose only in AA women, which remained significant after controlling for age and body mass index.

Conclusion: A relationship between HOST and fasting glucose was evident in AA women only, a group that has twice the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared with W women. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which HOST may affect glucose metabolism in AA women.

Key Words: hostility • African American • women • glucose • insulin

Abbreviations: AA = African American; BMI = body mass index; CVD = cardiovascular disease; HOMA-IR = homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; HOST = hostility; T2DM = Type 2 diabetes mellitus; W = white.