The Associations between Depression, Acculturation, and Cardiovascular Health among African Immigrants in the United States

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death both globally and in the United States (U.S.). Racial health disparities in cardiovascular health (CVH) persist with non-Hispanic Black adults having a higher burden of CVD morbidity and mortality compared to other racial groups. African immigrants represent an increasingly growing sub-population of the overall U.S. non-Hispanic Black adult population, however little is known about how specific psychological and social factors (i.e., depression and acculturation) influence the CVH of U.S. African immigrants. We sought to examine the association between severity of depression symptomology and CVH among African immigrants, and whether acculturation moderated the relationship between severity of depression symptoms and CVH. Study participants were those in the African Immigrant Health Study conducted in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area. Severity of depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). CVH was assessed using the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 metrics and categorized as poor, intermediate, and ideal CVH. Acculturation measured as length of stay and acculturation strategy was examined as a moderator variable. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between depression and CVH and the moderating effect of acculturation adjusting for known confounders. In total 317 African immigrants participated in the study. The mean (±SD) age of study participants was 46.9 (±11.1) and a majority (60%) identified as female. Overall, 8.8% of study participants endorsed moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression. African immigrants endorsing moderate-to-severe levels of depression were less likely to have ideal CVH compared to those with minimal-to-mild symptoms of depression (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.17–0.99). Acculturation measured either as length of stay or acculturation strategy did not moderate the relationship between depression and CVH among study participants. Study participants exhibited elevated levels of symptoms of depression. Greater severity of depression symptoms was associated with worse CVH. Efforts to treat and prevent CVD among African immigrants should also include a focus on addressing symptoms of depression within this population.