Receipt of public assistance during childhood and hypertension risk in adulthood.
PURPOSE
We examined if receipt of public assistance during childhood lowered risk for hypertension by mid-life in a cohort of African Americans in the Southeastern United States.


METHODS
We used multiple logistic regression models to assess the relationship between receipt of public assistance during childhood and adult hypertension among 405 male and 737 female adult participants enrolled between 1988 and 2001 in the Pitt County Study, a community-based prospective cohort study of African Americans in North Carolina. Statistical analyses were adjusted for child and adult sociodemographic measures as well as adult psychosocial and lifestyle factors.


RESULTS
Women who grew up in economically disadvantaged families and who received public assistance during childhood had a 66% decreased odds of hypertension by mid-life compared with women similarly disadvantaged in childhood but who did not receive public assistance, odds ratio = 0.34; 95% confidence interval: 0.14-0.83. No association was observed for African American men.


CONCLUSIONS
Receipt of anti-poverty federal assistance during childhood was associated with reduced risk for hypertension by mid-life among African American women. It is possible that social expenditures on public assistance programs for families in need could produce long-term health benefits for children.
['Barrington|Debbie S|DS|', 'James|Sherman A|SA|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D001741:African Americans D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D015331:Cohort Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D006973:Hypertension D007223:Infant D007231:Infant, Newborn D016015:Logistic Models D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009657:North Carolina D016017:Odds Ratio D011203:Poverty D011446:Prospective Studies D011632:Public Assistance D012959:Socioeconomic Factors D055815:Young Adult
Public assistance Hypertension African Americans Poverty Public policy