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Publications — No Comments
13
Jul 22

First-generation college students have greater systemic inflammation following the initial college transition

Background: First-generation college students (“first-gens”) are often at a disadvantage socially and academically; whether they are at risk physiologically is unknown despite the well-established link between greater education and better long-term health.

Purpose: To examine whether first-gens have higher levels of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk markers relative to continuing-generation college students (“continuing-gens”).

Methods: A panel of CVD risk markers was assessed among 87 emerging adults (41 first-gens) twice over their first year of college.

Results: Compared to continuing-gens, first-gens had greater systemic inflammation (composite of averaged z-scores for C-reactive protein and interleukin-6; B = 0.515, SE = 0.171, p = .003) during the fall but not spring semester (p > .05). Associations were independent of family home ownership and childhood adversity, even though first-gens were more likely to live in rental homes and reported riskier home environments. Lower childhood subjective social status (SSS) accounted for greater systemic inflammation among first-gens as evidenced by an indirect effect of college generation status on systemic inflammation through childhood SSS (a1b1 = 0.261, bootstrapped SE = 0.103, 95% boot CI [0.078, 0.482]). There were no differences in metabolic risk and latent virus regulation by college generation status in either semester (p > .10).

Conclusions: This is the first study to find that first-gens have higher levels of systemic inflammation than continuing-gens following the college transition and that childhood SSS may be one explanatory pathway. First-gens may benefit from university resources that address social class differences, which should be provided early on so that first-gens can reap the health-relevant benefits of higher education, at least in the short term.

CITATION: Jones E. J., & Schreier H. M. C. First-Generation College Students, Emotional Support, and Systemic Inflammation Following the College Transition. J Adolesc Health. 2023 Jan;72(1):36-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.08.012. Epub 2022 Oct 8. PMID: 36220685.

Adolescents / Chronic Illnesses / Publications / Socioeconomic Status — No Comments
15
Sep 15

Socioeconomic status in one’s childhood predicts offspring cardiovascular risk

Objective: To test whether effects of socioeconomic environments can persist across generations, we examined whether parents’ childhood socioeconomic status (SES) could predict blood pressure (BP) trajectories in their youth across a 12-month study period and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at one year follow-up. Methods: BP was assessed in 88 healthy youth (M age = 13 ± 2.4) at three study visits, each 6 months apart. CRP was also assessed in youth at baseline and one year follow-up. Parents reported on current and their own childhood SES (education and crowding). Results: If parents’ childhood SES was lower, their children displayed increasing SBP and CRP over the 12-month period, or conversely, the higher parents’ childhood SES, the greater the decrease in SBP and CRP in their youth over time. These effects persisted even after controlling for current SES. A number of other factors, including child health behaviors, parent psychosocial characteristics, general family functioning, and parent physiology could not explain these effects. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the SES environment parents grow up in may influence physical health across generations, here, SBP and CRP in their children, and hence that intergenerational histories are important to consider in predicting cardiovascular health in youth.

CITATION: Schreier, H. M. C. & Chen, E. (2010). Socioeconomic status in one’s childhood predicts offspring cardiovascular risk. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity, 24, 1324-1331.

Adolescents / Inflammation / Intervention / Publications / Volunteering — No Comments
08
Sep 15

Effect of volunteering on cardiovascular risk in adolescents

Importance The idea that individuals who help others incur health benefits themselves suggests a novel approach to improving health while simultaneously promoting greater civic orientation in our society. The present study is the first experimental trial, to our knowledge, of whether regular volunteering can reduce cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents. Objective To test a novel intervention that assigned adolescents to volunteer with elementary school–aged children as a means of improving adolescents’ cardiovascular risk profiles. Design Randomized controlled trial, with measurements taken at baseline and 4 months later (postintervention). Setting Urban public high school in western Canada. Participants One hundred six 10th-grade high school students who were fluent in English and free of chronic illnesses. Intervention Weekly volunteering with elementary school–aged children for 2 months vs wait-list control group. Main Outcome Measures Cardiovascular risk markers of C-reactive protein level, interleukin 6 level, total cholesterol level, and body mass index. Results No statistically significant group differences were found at baseline. Postintervention, adolescents in the intervention group showed significantly lower interleukin 6 levels (log10 mean difference, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.004 to 0.251), cholesterol levels (log10 mean difference, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.003 to 0.059), and body mass index (mean difference, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.71) compared with adolescents in the control group. Effects for C-reactive protein level were marginal (log10 mean difference, 0.13; 95% CI, −0.011 to 0.275). Preliminary analyses within the intervention group suggest that those who increased the most in empathy and altruistic behaviors, and who decreased the most in negative mood, also showed the greatest decreases in cardiovascular risk over time. Conclusions and Relevance Adolescents who volunteer to help others also benefit themselves, suggesting a novel way to improve health.

CITATION: Schreier, H. M. C., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Chen, E. (2013). Effect of volunteering on cardiovascular risk in adolescents. JAMA – Pediatrics, 167(4), 327-332.

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