Inflammatory Markers, Hazardous Air Pollutants, and Psychosocial Factors

Hazardous Air Pollutants, Positivity, and Inflammation (HAPPI) Study

Background

American Indian women in southeastern North Carolina have higher cardiovascular mortality rates than White or African American women. Inflammatory processes may underlie racial disparities in cardiovascular outcomes and may be critical to understanding population-specific drivers and potential buffers among vulnerable groups. Environmental air pollutants, especially ambient particulate matter (PM), is known to be an important catalyst in cardiovascular-associated inflammation. Positive psychosocial states, which predict low levels of inflammatory gene expression, could serve to mitigate or reverse the inflammatory response to PM and ultimately lead to better cardiovascular health outcomes.

Objective

In the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award, entitled Inflammatory Markers, Hazardous Air Pollutants, and Psychosocial Factors (5 K23 ES027026-04), we will examine the interplay among environmental air pollutant exposures, cardiovascular-associated inflammation, and psychosocial factors in a sample of 150 American Indian (Lumbee) women. The Specific Aims are to 1) examine the association between PM and cardiovascular-associated inflammatory markers in American Indian women; 2) examine the association between psychosocial states and cardiovascular-associated inflammatory markers in American Indian women; and 3) determine whether positive psychosocial states buffer (moderate) the association between PM and cardiovascular-associated inflammatory markers in American Indian women.

Study Team/Roles

• Jada L. Brooks, PhD, MSPH, RN, PI
• Emily Gail Currin, Project Manager
• George Knafl, PhD, Biostatistician
• David Peden, MD, MS, Primary Mentor
• Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, Co-Mentor
• Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, MSc, Scientific Advisor
• Linda Beeber, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, Scientific Advisor

Partnerships

• Community Partnership Committee (comprised of 6 American Indian community stakeholders) – involved in HAPPI (current) and NC TraCS Stakeholder Engagement Voucher (expired 3/2020)

Funding Organization

• NIH/NIEHS K23 grant
• NC TraCS funding included a Stakeholder Engagement Voucher for 2019 – 2020
• CHER/PHS has contributed to the funding support of the biological specimen collection and analysis in the HAPPI Study (not related to the community partners’ involvement)

Publications

• Brooks, J. L., Berry, D. C., Currin, E. G., Ledford, A., Knafl, G. J., Fredrickson, B. L., Beeber, L. S., HAPPI Community Partnership Committee, Peden, D. B., Corbie-Smith, G. M. (2019). A community-engaged approach to investigate cardiovascular-associated inflammation among American Indian women: A research protocol. Research in Nursing & Health, 42(3), 165-175. doi:10.1002/nur.21944

News

• Carolina Center for Public Service Web Feature: https://ccps.unc.edu/all-about-relationships-meet-thorp-faculty-engaged-scholar-jada-brooks/
• Featured in the UNC SON Magazine Summer 2019: https://nursing.unc.edu/alumni/inform/carolina-nursing-magazine/

Contact

• Dr. Jada L. Brooks: jada@email.unc.edu
• Emily Gail Currin: eghall@email.unc.edu

 

Last updated: 7/28/2020