BACKGROUND Non-Hispanic Black Americans have a greater risk for certain subtypes of cardiovascular disease (CVD; e.g., stroke and heart failure) relative to non-Hispanic White Americans. Moreover, Black relative to White adults consistently show elevated cortisol, a CVD risk. The impact of race, environmental stress, and cortisol on subclinical CVD has yet to be fully researched in children. METHOD We assessed diurnal salivary cortisol slopes and hair cortisol in a sample of 9- to 11-year-old children (N = 271; 54% female) with roughly half self-identifying as either Black (57%) or White (43%). Two subclinical CVD indicators were assessed: carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). We assessed numerous environmental stress indicators. RESULTS After adjusting for covariates, we found that Black children had significantly flatter diurnal cortisol slopes, higher hair cortisol, and thicker IMT than White children. Significant pathways were found: race → salivary cortisol slope → cfPWV (effect = -0.059, 95% CI [-0.116, -0.002]) and race → hair cortisol → cIMT (effect = -0.008, [-0.016, -0.002]). Black children also experienced significantly more environmental stress than White children; however, only income inequality served as a significant indirect pathway from race to salivary cortisol (effect = 0.029, [0.003, 0.060]). CONCLUSIONS Relative to White children, Black children had significantly greater hair cortisol and flatter diurnal slopes which, in turn, were associated with greater subclinical CVD. As suggested by a significant indirect pathway, income inequality might partially explain the race-cortisol association. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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9 至 11 岁儿童的种族、皮质醇和亚临床心血管疾病。

背景技术相对于非西班牙裔美国白人，非西班牙裔美国黑人患某些亚型心血管疾病（CVD；例如中风和心力衰竭）的风险更大。此外，与白人成年人相比，黑人成年人的皮质醇水平始终升高，这是一种心血管疾病的风险。种族、环境压力和皮质醇对亚临床心血管疾病的影响尚未在儿童中得到充分研究。方法 我们评估了 9 至 11 岁儿童样本（N = 271；54% 女性）的每日唾液皮质醇斜率和头发皮质醇，其中大约一半自我认定为黑人（57%）或白人（43%） ）。评估了两个亚临床CVD指标：颈动脉-股动脉脉搏波速度（cfPWV）和颈动脉内膜中层厚度（cIMT）。我们评估了许多环境压力指标。结果调整协变量后，我们发现黑人儿童的昼间皮质醇斜率明显比白人儿童更平坦，头发皮质醇更高，IMT 更厚。发现了重要的途径：种族 → 唾液皮质醇斜率 → cfPWV（效果 = -0.059，95% CI [-0.116，-0.002]）和种族 → 头发皮质醇 → cIMT（效果 = -0.008，[-0.016，-0.002]） 。黑人儿童也比白人儿童承受更多的环境压力；然而，只有收入不平等是从种族到唾液皮质醇的重要间接途径（效应 = 0.029，[0.003，0.060]）。结论 与白人儿童相比，黑人儿童的头发皮质醇含量明显更高，昼夜斜率更平坦，这反过来又与更大的亚临床心血管疾病相关。正如一条重要的间接路径所表明的，收入不平等可能部分解释了种族与皮质醇之间的关联。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。