Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28222733›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2017

Educational health disparities in hypertension and diabetes mellitus among African descent populations in the Caribbean and the USA: a comparative analysis from the Spanish town cohort (Jamaica) and the Jackson heart study (USA).

Aurelian Bidulescu, Trevor S Ferguson, Ian Hambleton, Novie Younger-Coleman, Damian Francis, Nadia Bennett, Michael Griswold, Ervin Fox, Marlene MacLeish, Rainford Wilks and 2 more

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. CKD Prevalence and Associated Factors in Jamaica.Kidney international reports · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. HbAPreventing chronic disease · 2021
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Aurelian BidulescuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health - Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA. abidules@indiana.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-8211-8309
Trevor S FergusonEpidemiology Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica.
Ian HambletonChronic Disease Research Centre, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, West Indies, Barbados.
Novie Younger-ColemanEpidemiology Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica.
Damian FrancisEpidemiology Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica.
Nadia BennettEpidemiology Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica.
Michael GriswoldCenter of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Ervin FoxUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Marlene MacLeishDepartment of Medical Education, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Rainford WilksEpidemiology Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica.
E Nigel HarrisThe University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica.
Louis W SullivanThe Sullivan Alliance, Alexandria, VA, USA.

Funding

NHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201300046CNHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201300047CNHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201300048CNHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201300049CNHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201300050CNIMHD NIH HHS L60 MD002938
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStudies have suggested that social inequalities in chronic disease outcomes differ between industrialized and developing countries, but few have directly compared these effects. We explored inequalities in hypertension and diabetes prevalence between African-descent populations with different levels of educational attainment in Jamaica and in the United States of America (USA), comparing disparities within each location, and between countries.

methodsWe analyzed baseline data from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) in the USA and Spanish Town Cohort (STC) in Jamaica. Participants reported their highest level of educational attainment, which was categorized as 'less than high school' (<HS), high school (HS) and 'more than high school' (>HS). Educational disparities in the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes were examined using prevalence ratios (PR), controlling for age, sex and body mass index (BMI).

resultsAnalyses included 7248 participants, 2382 from STC and 4866 from JHS, with mean age of 47 and 54 years, respectively (p < 0.001). Prevalence for both hypertension and diabetes was significantly higher in the JHS compared to STC, 62% vs. 25% (p < 0.001) and 18% vs. 13% (p < 0.001), respectively. In bivariate analyses there were significant disparities by education level for both hypertension and diabetes in both studies; however, after accounting for confounding or interaction by age, sex and BMI these effects were attenuated. For hypertension, after adjusting for age and BMI, a significant education disparity was found only for women in JHS, with PR of 1.10 (95% CI 1.04-1.16) for < HS vs > HS and 1.07 (95% CI 1.01-1.13) for HS vs > HS. For diabetes; when considering age-group and sex specific estimates adjusted for BMI, among men: significant associations were seen only in the 45-59 years age-group in JHS with PR 1.84 (95% CI 1.16-2.91) for < HS vs > HS. Among women, significant PR comparing < HS to > HS was seen for all three age-groups for JHS, but not in STC; PR were 3.95 (95% CI 1.94-8.05), 1.53 (95% CI 1.10-2.11) and 1.32 (95% CI 1.06-1.64) for 25-44, 45-59 and 60-74 age-groups, respectively.

conclusionIn Jamaica, educational disparities were largely explained by age, sex and BMI, while in the USA these disparities were larger and persisted after accounting these variables.

Indexed as

Black PeopleDeveloped CountriesDeveloping CountriesEducational StatusHealth Status DisparitiesAdultBlack or African AmericanCaribbean RegionCohort StudiesDiabetes MellitusFemaleHumansHypertensionJamaicaMaleMiddle AgedAfrican AmericansAfro-CaribbeanBlacksDiabetesEducationHealth disparitiesHypertensionJackson Heart StudyJamaicaSocial determinants

Identifiers

PMID28222733
PMCPMC5320798

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.