Thesis
Exploring cardiovascular risk as a mediator of the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and cognitive performance in Black adults living with HIV
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001762
Abstract
Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV and its cardiovascular comorbidities that compromise cognition. The current study examines the effect of racial discrimination on cognitive performance among Black people living with HIV and investigates whether cardiovascular risk mediates this relationship. Forty-eight Black adults with HIV (ages 44-77, 100% on antiretroviral therapy, 92% with viral load <200 copies/ml) were recruited from the Drexel/Temple Comprehensive NeuroHIV Center, Clinical and Translational Research Support Core Cohort. Visits included biometric measurements, comprehensive neuropsychological assessments, and the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire - Community Version. Cardiovascular risk was measured via cumulative vascular risk factor burden, body mass index, and waist-height ratio. Mediation models demonstrated a trend between greater PEDQ-CV scores and reduced verbal fluency performance, but cardiovascular risk did not mediate this association. After conducting a sensitivity analysis limited to participants who reported at least some prior experience of discrimination, discrimination-cognition relationships became significant. In sum, higher levels of perceived racial discrimination are associated with reduced functioning in one cognitive domain, verbal fluency, but not others, and vascular risk does not mediate this association. Future studies continue investigating the pathways through which institutional and interpersonal discrimination impairs cognitive abilities in Black adults with HIV
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Details
- Title
- Exploring cardiovascular risk as a mediator of the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and cognitive performance in Black adults living with HIV
- Creators
- Valerie Humphreys
- Contributors
- Kathryn N. Devlin (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vi, 36 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021212414504721