Specific coping strategies of Africans during urbanization: comparing cardiovascular responses and perception of health data

Abstract

Specific coping mechanisms of Africans during urbanization were compared to and correlated with cardiovascular responses and perception of health data. Subjects included men (N = 286) and women (N = 360). The COPE questionnaire classified subjects as active (AC) or passive (PC) copers and the General Health Questionnaire measured subjective perception of health. The Finapres recorded blood pressure continuously before and during application of a handgrip test. Analyses adjusting for age, body mass index and resting cardiovascular data revealed that AC rural subjects showed predominantly cardiac responses and PC rural subjects predominantly vascular responses. All urbanized African men and women showed higher resting blood pressure, vascular responsiveness and hypertension prevalences than their rural counterparts. All rural AC subjects, especially women, and all urban PC subjects, especially men, reported a poorer perception of health. In conclusion, subjects with a PC style showed a predominantly vascular response in rural and urban areas whereas subjects with an AC style seem to shift from a predominant cardiac output response to a predominant vascular resistance response when moving from a rural to an urban area.