High blood pressure and comorbid health disparities among an African American church population

High blood pressure continues to burden the African American community. In 2012, 46% of African American women and 43% African American men were diagnosed with high blood pressure in the US. African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes, heart disease, and asthma. African American churches may be well-positioned to extend reach of prevention, screening, and linkage to care services for hypertension and other health conditions experienced by their church members. However, little information has been collected on comorbid health risks of high blood pressure among African-American church populations.  Surveys were administered to church members and community members who used church outreach services (e.g., food pantry, social services) in eleven African American churches (N = 463 participants total) in the Kansas City metropolitan area.  Participants completed questions on whether they had been diagnosed with various African American health disparity conditions (e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, prostate cancer).  Similar to the general African American population, 44% (N = 205) of participants had been diagnosed with high blood pressure.  Chi-square analyses concluded that participants who reported being diagnosed with high blood pressure reported significantly higher rates of other health disparity issues, including high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease, than those not without a high blood pressure diagnosis. Females with high blood pressure reported significantly higher rates of breast cancer, and males with high blood pressure reported higher rates of prostate cancer.  Further research should be conducted to determine culturally appropriate interventions to address African American health disparities among populations in faith-based settings.