If you happened to look through the most recent online publications of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), you may have noticed many familiar author names on one paper. The first author Joseph Lunyera, MBChB, and senior author, Clarissa Diamantidis, MD, published important work about psychosocial factors and kidney health in Black Americans. This article entitled "Nondepressive Psychosocial Factors and CKD Outcomes in Black Americans" includes a podcast recording led by Dr. Lunyera.
The topic of CKD in Black Americans has significance since the risk is disproportionately higher among Blacks compared to Whites. Social determinants of health, such as anger or stress, may affect kidney health, but there has been little research in this area. The group studying participants in the Jackson Heart Study used “principal component analysis” (a statistical technique) to identify underlying constructs from 12 psychosocial baseline variables. These were reduced to 3 non-correlated components: life stressors, moods, and coping. Remarkably they found greater life stressors actually were associated with lower prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) at baseline; and, likewise on follow-up of 8 years.
In the Podcast the authors comment that his study informs future research that could look at biologic mediators. Future study also could examine behavioral responses that might offset the health consequences.
This article was the only one in the issue selected for a podcast. In the recording, Lunyera, Diamantidis, and Dr. Mario Sims, a social epidemiologist at the University of Mississippi, a co-author on the study, discussed rationale, background, and how their findings inform future research in this area.
CITATION (Duke GIM members in bold) :
Lunyera J, Davenport CA, Bhavsar NA, Sims M, Scialla J, Pendergast J, Hall R, Tyson CC, St. Clair Russell J, Wang W, Correa A, Boulware LE, Diamantidis CJ. "Nondepressive Psychosocial Factors and CKD Outcomes in Black Americans." Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. January 3, 2018.