Racism-based and Biomarkers of Stress

NCT05574933 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: RKI-1036
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This feasibility study aims to explore how racism-induced stress impacts the brain and body and how a culturally responsive intervention can reduce the mental and physical effects of this stress among African Americans (AA). We aim to acquire methodological and protocol insights for a subsequent study by assessing 1) the feasibility of recruiting AA for a race-related study and collecting psychological and biomarkers of stress, 2) determining the association between racism-based stress surveys and biomarkers of stress, and 3) explore participants feedback on the impact of racism in their life and their willingness to participate in a 12-week mindfulness intervention with additional assessments, such as functional MRI testing.

Conditions

Racism; Stress, Psychological

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Feasibility of study

  percentage of participants who complete the study

  2 weeks

• Correlation analysis of race-based traumatic stress and allostatic load

  Correlate levels of race-based traumatic stress calculated from a questionnaire (Race-based Traumatic stress symptoms-RBTSSS) with allostatic load and stress biomarkers (salivary cortisol). The RBTSS is 52 items self-report instrument that assesses reactions resulting from negative racial experiences. Participants identify the most memorable negative racial encounter and complete emotional symptom reaction items. Items are rated along a 5-point Likert scale. RBTSSS comprises of 7 symptom scales: Depression (10 items), Intrusion (8 items), Anger (8 items), hypervigilance (8 items), physical reactions (8 items), Low self-esteem (6 items), and avoidance (4 items). Higher scores indicate a greater presence of reaction symptoms. The Allostatic score is calculated as a composite of 10 biomarkers focused on the metabolic, renal, and immune physiologic systems.

  2 weeks

• Acceptability of planned 12 week intervention

  Percentage of participants willing to participate in a future planned Intervention

  2 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Allostatic load composite score

  2 weeks

• Telomere Length

  2 weeks

• Salivary Cortisol-AUC

  After baseline, 3 timepoints at waking, 30min after waking, and at bedtime. In a 24 hour period

• Concentrations of pro-inflammatory gene expression Response to Adversity (CTRA)

  2 weeks

• Qualitative evaluation of participants perspectives on racism based stress

  2 weeks

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Self-identifying African Americans/Black 18-50 years of age

You may qualify if:

• Self Identity as African American or Black
• years old
• Fluent in English
• Born and or raised in the United States

You may not qualify if:

• History of significant pre-existing brain disease or injury (e.g., dementia, stroke, seizure disorder, and head injury with cognitive sequelae or loss of consciousness \>30 min.ute, seizure disorder)
• Reported history of learning disability/mental retardation
• Current Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or psychotic disorder diagnosis
• Current psychotropic medication (as these medications have known impacts on brain function) eg. antipsychotics, antianxiety
• Severe/chronic medical illness (e.g., reported HIV+ status, cardiovascular disease, liver disease/cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, current/past cancer with radiation/chemotherapy treatment, etc.)
• Current methadone/suboxone/buprenorphine (or similar) maintenance
• Use of illicit substances other than cannabis within the past 90 days
• Pregnant
• Major life events in the last 30 days (hospitalization, marriage, death in the family of friends, disaster)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Rockefeller University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Rockefeller University

New York, New York, 10065, United States

Location

Related Publications (18)

• American Public Health Association. Analysis: Declarations of Racism as a Public Health Crisis.2021. https://www.apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/topics/racism/Racism_Declarations_Analysis. ashx

  BACKGROUND

• Williams DR, Mohammed SA. Racism and Health I: Pathways and Scientific Evidence. Am Behav Sci. 2013 Aug 1;57(8):10.1177/0002764213487340. doi: 10.1177/0002764213487340.

  PMID: 24347666 BACKGROUND

• Bailey ZD, Krieger N, Agenor M, Graves J, Linos N, Bassett MT. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet. 2017 Apr 8;389(10077):1453-1463. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30569-X.

  PMID: 28402827 BACKGROUND

• Becares L, Nazroo J, Kelly Y. A longitudinal examination of maternal, family, and area-level experiences of racism on children's socioemotional development: Patterns and possible explanations. Soc Sci Med. 2015 Oct;142:128-35. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.08.025. Epub 2015 Aug 15.

  PMID: 26301485 BACKGROUND

• Paradies Y, Ben J, Denson N, Elias A, Priest N, Pieterse A, Gupta A, Kelaher M, Gee G. Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 23;10(9):e0138511. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138511. eCollection 2015.

  PMID: 26398658 BACKGROUND

• Geronimus AT, Hicken M, Keene D, Bound J. "Weathering" and age patterns of allostatic load scores among blacks and whites in the United States. Am J Public Health. 2006 May;96(5):826-33. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.060749. Epub 2005 Dec 27.

  PMID: 16380565 BACKGROUND

• Clark US, Miller ER, Hegde RR. Experiences of Discrimination Are Associated With Greater Resting Amygdala Activity and Functional Connectivity. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2018 Apr;3(4):367-378. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.11.011. Epub 2017 Dec 8.

  PMID: 29628069 BACKGROUND

• Akdeniz C, Tost H, Streit F, Haddad L, Wust S, Schafer A, Schneider M, Rietschel M, Kirsch P, Meyer-Lindenberg A. Neuroimaging evidence for a role of neural social stress processing in ethnic minority-associated environmental risk. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014 Jun;71(6):672-80. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.35.

  PMID: 24740491 BACKGROUND

• Brody GH, Lei MK, Chae DH, Yu T, Kogan SM, Beach SRH. Perceived discrimination among African American adolescents and allostatic load: a longitudinal analysis with buffering effects. Child Dev. 2014 May-Jun;85(3):989-1002. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12213. Epub 2014 Feb 5.

  PMID: 24673162 BACKGROUND

• Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, Cawthon RM. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec 7;101(49):17312-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0407162101. Epub 2004 Dec 1.

  PMID: 15574496 BACKGROUND

• Thomas MD, Sohail S, Mendez RM, Marquez-Magana L, Allen AM. Racial Discrimination and Telomere Length in Midlife African American Women: Interactions of Educational Attainment and Employment Status. Ann Behav Med. 2021 Jun 28;55(7):601-611. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaaa104.

  PMID: 33289498 BACKGROUND

• Tull ES, Sheu YT, Butler C, Cornelious K. Relationships between perceived stress, coping behavior and cortisol secretion in women with high and low levels of internalized racism. J Natl Med Assoc. 2005 Feb;97(2):206-12.

  PMID: 15712783 BACKGROUND

• Miller HN, LaFave S, Marineau L, Stephens J, Thorpe RJ Jr. The impact of discrimination on allostatic load in adults: An integrative review of literature. J Psychosom Res. 2021 Jul;146:110434. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110434. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

  PMID: 33810863 BACKGROUND

• Watson-Singleton NN, Pennefather J, Trusty T. Can a culturally-responsive Mobile health (mHealth) application reduce African Americans' stress?: A pilot feasibility study. Current Psychology. 2021 /03/02 2021;doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01534-9

  BACKGROUND

• Carter RT, Muchow C. Construct validity of the Race-Based Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale and tests of measurement equivalence. Psychol Trauma. 2017 Nov;9(6):688-695. doi: 10.1037/tra0000256. Epub 2017 Feb 6.

  PMID: 28165267 BACKGROUND

• Henry JD, Crawford JR. The short-form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): construct validity and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol. 2005 Jun;44(Pt 2):227-39. doi: 10.1348/014466505X29657.

  PMID: 16004657 BACKGROUND

• Wei M, Alvarez AN, Ku TY, Russell DW, Bonett DG. Development and validation of a Coping with Discrimination Scale: factor structure, reliability, and validity. J Couns Psychol. 2010 Jul;57(3):328-44. doi: 10.1037/a0019969.

  PMID: 21133583 BACKGROUND

• Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: measuring the positive legacy of trauma. J Trauma Stress. 1996 Jul;9(3):455-71. doi: 10.1007/BF02103658.

  PMID: 8827649 BACKGROUND

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

Blood samples for a complete blood count, gene expression analysis, and telomere length testing

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Racism; Stress, Psychological

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Prejudice; Social Behavior; Behavior; Social Discrimination; Behavioral Symptoms

Study Officials

• Rachel W Kimani

  Rockefeller University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE ONLY
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 6, 2022
• First Posted: October 12, 2022
• Study Start: October 31, 2022
• Primary Completion: April 6, 2023
• Study Completion: April 6, 2023
• Last Updated: May 11, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)