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ABSTRACT ObjectiveInflammation may be an integral physiological mechanism through which discrimination impacts cardiovascular health and contributes to racial health disparities. Limited research has examined psychosocial factors that protect against the negative effects of discrimination on inflammation. Perceived control is a promising possible protective factor, given that it has been shown to moderate the relationship between other psychosocial stressors and physiological outcomes. This study thus tested whether systemic inflammation mediated the link between discrimination and cardiovascular health and whether perceived control moderated this relationship. MethodsData for this project included 347 non-Hispanic/Latinx Black adults (mean [standard deviation] age = 51.64 [11.24] years; 33% female) taken from the Midlife in the United States study. Perceived control and daily discrimination were assessed via self-report, and inflammation was measured via circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, and tumor necrosis factor α. Cardiovascular health was measured by morbidity of cardiovascular conditions: heart disease, hypertension, and/or stroke. ResultsCRP (indirect effect:b =0.004, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.001–0.007) and fibrinogen (indirect effect:b =0.002, 95% CI = 0.0003–0.005) mediated the link between discrimination and cardiovascular conditions. Perceived control moderated the relationship between discrimination and CRP (F(1, 293) = 4.58, ΔR2= 0.013,b= −0.02, SE = 0.01,p= .033). CRP mediated the link between discrimination and cardiovascular conditions only for those who reported low levels of perceived control (Index = −0.003, 95% CI = −0.007 to −0.0001). ConclusionFindings provide empirical evidence of inflammation as a mechanism linking discrimination to cardiovascular conditions among Black Americans. Additionally, perceived control may be protective. Findings could suggest beliefs about control as a potential intervention target to help reduce the negative effects of discrimination on cardiovascular health among Black Americans.
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This content will become publicly available on November 25, 2026
Cognitive correlates of human endurance
Recent work suggests combining physical activity with cognitive tasks may have been critical to human evolution and may be beneficial to human brain health today. These combined tasks are key elements of foraging, a lifestyle employed by human ancestors for over 2 My. However, it is unclear whether cognitive engagement during foraging-like tasks impacts endurance, and therefore foraging performance, and whether cognitive adaptations may mitigate these effects. We tested the hypothesis that cognitive engagement during endurance walking increases perceived physical effort without influencing physiological responses, and that enhanced cognition mitigates these effects. Thirty healthy adults (nfemale= 17; aged 18 to 53) underwent nonlocomotor cognitive testing and completed two separate randomized endurance tests: one without (Ex) and one with simultaneous executive function tasks (ExCog). For each condition, participants walked on a treadmill for up to 30-min while physiological responses were recorded, and perception of effort was assessed every 2-min using Borg’s rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. During the ExCog condition, RPE was significantly greater (P= 0.005), while energy expenditure was significantly lower (P= 0.008) compared to the Ex condition. Additionally, we observed significant interactions between cognitive abilities and endurance performance—for example, individuals with greater visuospatial abilities experienced a smaller increase in perceived effort (RPE) in the ExCog condition compared to the Ex condition (FDRP= 0.039). These results indicate that cognitive demands and cognitive abilities associated with foraging distinctly influence endurance, suggesting that evolutionary shifts in human cognitive capacities may have relaxed constraints on endurance foraging performance.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2419169
- PAR ID:
- 10659619
- Publisher / Repository:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 122
- Issue:
- 47
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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