Black Americans experience the death of a parent much earlier in the life course than White Americans on average. However, studies have not considered whether the cardiovascular health consequences of early parental death vary by race. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we explore associations between early parental death and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in early to mid-adulthood (N = 4,193). We find that the death of a parent during childhood or adolescence (ages 0–17) or the transition to adulthood (ages 18–27) is associated with increased CVD risk for Black Americans, whereas parental death following the transition to adulthood (ages 28+) undermines cardiovascular health for both Black Americans and White Americans. These findings illustrate how a stress and life course perspective can help inform strategies aimed at addressing both the unequal burden of bereavement and high cardiovascular risk faced by Black Americans.

中文翻译：

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父母去世、种族不平等和成年早期至中期心血管疾病风险


平均而言，美国黑人在生命过程中比美国白人更早经历父母的去世。然而，研究尚未考虑父母早逝对心血管健康的影响是否因种族而异。使用来自全国青少年至成人健康纵向研究的数据，我们探讨了父母早期死亡与成年早期至中期心血管疾病 （CVD） 风险之间的关联 （N = 4,193）。我们发现，父母在童年或青少年时期（0-17 岁）或过渡到成年期（18-27 岁）的死亡与美国黑人的 CVD 风险增加有关，而父母在过渡到成年期（28+）后死亡会损害美国黑人和白人的心血管健康。这些发现说明了压力和生命历程的观点如何帮助制定旨在解决美国黑人面临的不平等丧亲负担和高心血管风险的策略。