Fear of Job Loss and Hypertension Prevalence Among Working Latino Adults

Evidence indicates that stress increases cardiovascular disease risk. Latinos are disproportionately employed in precarious work conditions that can trigger hypertension risk. We examined if fear of job loss, a work stressor, was associated with hypertension among U.S. Latinos. We utilized 2015 National Health Interview Survey data from working Latino adults (n = 2683). In multivariate logistic regression models, we examined if fear of job loss was associated with hypertension, adjusting for age, sex, education, household income, and health insurance, and whether nativity status modified this relationship. Fear of job loss was significantly associated with increased probability of reporting hypertension among Latino workers in fully adjusted models (PR 1.55, 95% CI 1.18–2.03), compared with no fear of job loss. This relationship varied by nativity. These findings suggest that work-related conditions may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk among Latinos and public health initiatives should promote behavioral interventions in work settings.