This study examined the John Henryism hypothesis on blood pressure in an urban population of middle-aged black men and women. The population in which James and colleagues first demonstrated the importance of John Henryism on blood pressure was located in the rural south, where it was demonstrated that less educated John Henry active copers had higher blood pressure levels than more educated John Henry active copers. The current study’s findings must be considered in light of the fact that early studies in support of the John Henryism hypothesis were almost exclusively conducted among southern, rural, relatively low SES men. The present study included a middle-aged sample drawn from the urban south Florida area. The present study revealed that high John Henry active coping is related to higher blood pressure levels in women with lower levels of education (consistent with the hypothesis); whereas for men, high John Henry active coping is related to elevated blood pressure levels only among those with higher levels of education (inconsistent with the initial proposed John Henryism hypothesis).

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Population Characteristics

The final sample was 376 persons with SMI: 155 Caucasian and 221 African-American military veterans, of whom over 90% were men (see Table 1). Compared with Caucasians, African Americans were younger, a smaller proportion were currently married, and a greater proportion were institutionalized or homeless. There were no racial differ ences in educational status or having at least one child. A greater proportion of African Americans had a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and drug use disorders, fewer were diagnosed with PTSD or bipolar disorder, and a smaller proportion had experienced combat exposure. Over 40% of the study cohort had an alcohol use disorder, with no racial difference observed.

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A prospective observational study design with a comparison group was used. BIH participants with a delivery recorded between July 1996 and September 1998 and who had entered the BIH Program prior to 32 weeks’ gestation, were included in the birthweight (BW) and PTB analyses. These outcomes for BIH participants (n=l,553) were compared to those of all African-American women in the BIH Program’s targeted ZIP codes (n=l 1,633). Some descriptive data on the entire BIH population was analyzed in order to provide a context for the study.

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Descriptive statistics for the entire sample, split by gender, are shown in Table 1. T-tests revealed a significant difference on BMI between men and women, with women exhibiting greater BMI. There were no other significant differences found on any of the other descriptive variables measured on a continuous scale. The majority (86%) of the sample reported a positive family history of hypertension, and 53% reported they were smokers. Due to the lack of correspondence between the two cohorts in assessing marital status, we provide information on marital status only for descriptive purposes: of the 66 subjects (38 men and 28 women) with data on marital status, 37% of the men and 25% of the women reported they were married.

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The toll of infant morbidity and mortality associated with low birthweight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB) has been investigated in numerous studies over the last 40 years. Associated factors, such as demographics, pregnancy history, personal behaviors, and access to prenatal care, are addressed repeatedly in the literature. However, there is still a less-than-adequate understanding of the biologic and social factors underlying their association with neonatal outcomes.

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Study Design

This is a cross-sectional study of risk behaviors and the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among veterans with SMI. We recruited 399 consecutive patients admitted to the Durham VA inpatient psychiatric unit between March 1998 and June 2000. The study setting was a VA psychiatric ward with 26 inpatient beds and an average length of stay of eight days.

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Subjects

This study used a sample constructed by a merging of two cohorts from studies examining risk factors for hypertension conducted from 1986 to 1991. Subjects were recruited from Miami-Dade County, FL, through community blood pressure screenings and advertisements in newspapers. All subjects were healthy native English speakers. If a subject was taking a prescribed blood pressure medication, they were weaned off (under the guidance of a physician) for a minimum of two weeks to be eligible to participate in the study. Participants were excluded if they were taking other prescription medication and had a history of medical problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, dizziness, and/or any other cardiovascular disease or chronic physical illness. One-hundred-forty-seven black subjects (83 men and 64 women) ranging in age from 25 to 54 served as potential subjects.

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