Background:
Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. Healthy diet and exercise improve heart health. Some features of where a person lives can lead to stress and decrease chances for exercise. Researchers want to see how these factors may increase the risk of heart disease in women.
Objective:
To see if there are differences in stress levels between women who live in different parts of Washington, DC. Also, to see how these women use their neighborhoods for exercise.
Eligibility:
Healthy white or black females ages 19-45 who live in Washington, DC, who have access to a smartphone
Design:
Participants may stay at the NIH Clinical Center overnight for a 2-day visit.
Visit 1 will include:
Physical exam
Blood tests
Electrocardiogram: Electrodes on the participant s skin will measure heart activity.
PET/CT scan: Participants will get an injection. They will lie in a machine that takes pictures of the body.
Surveys
Body size measurements
Nutrition consultation
Blood vessel tests: This is measured with blood pressure cuffs, a device placed on the participant s fingertip, and a probe placed on the participant s neck.
Resting Energy Expenditure: Participants will breathe under a clear hood for 45 minutes.
Participants will be followed for about 2 weeks. They will wear a device on the wrist and carry a GPS device. Through a mobile app, they will answer short daily surveys on stress and exercise.
Visit 2-
Device return
Nutritional consultation
A healthy self-identified White female (i.e. self-identifies as White or of European descent) or healthy Black female (i.e. self-identifies as Black, African American, or of African descent)
Must be between 19 to 45 years of age
Must not have any chronic health condition (i.e.: cardiovascular, autoimmune, endocrinologic), or active infection
Must be living in Washington, DC
Pregnant or breast feeding
Physically unable to perform physical activity for any reason
Subject had weight changes greater than 20% over the past 3 months
Subject is obese by our measurements (BMI greater than or equal to 35.0 kg/m²)
Recruitment will take place at both the NIH Clinical Center and at the NHLBI Hope Center. The proposed study will be cross-sectional with a sample of healthy White females (n=30) and healthy Black females of African descent (n=30) in Washington, DC. Participants will be asked to wear a GPS unit and accelerometer, and to use a smartphone (i.e., to measure perceived stress/mood via EMA) to examine associations between GIS-derived neighborhood variables, stress-related neural activity measures, and adverse biological markers. A sample of the women (n=30) will be recruited from the high SES census tracts within Washington, DC. The other participants (n=30) will be recruited from low SES census tracts in Washington DC. Finally, participants from high and low SES census tracts in Washington DC will be matched with respect to age, race, and body mass index \[BMI\].
Other
Prospective
Not listed
Stress-related neural activity
Stress-related neural activity will be estimated by neuroimaging (18-FDG PET/CT amygdala activity)
1) examine associations between neighborhood environment conditions
rate of poverty, disorder, crime through both residential neighborhoods and individuals activity space and differences in cardiovascular risk and immune activation through: (i) assessment of vascular function (vascular stiffness, vascular inflammation); and (ii) measures of immune function (i.e. flow cytometry for immune cell phenotyping
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