THE IMPACT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) tends to be more prevalent in individuals older than 18 years of age with serious mental illness (SMI) and CVD is the leading cause of death of African Americans in the United States. Socioeconomic status (SES) is a major confounder that distorts the association of SMI with CVD in the African American population. The goal of this study is to measure the relationship between SMI and CVD in middle and upper income level African Americans. To accomplish this goal the three specific aims are as follows: Aim 1: To measure the prevalence of CVD in the study population. Aim 2: To measure the prevalence of SMI in the study population. Aim 3: To measure the strength of the association between SMI and CVD in the study population. The study is a cross-sectional study using secondary data analysis from four merged 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) datasets.