Jan 27, 2026 02:48 AM
(This post was last modified: Jan 27, 2026 02:51 AM by C C.)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1114080
INTRO: Black Americans die younger than their White counterparts, with an estimated 1.63 million “excess” deaths having occurred between 1999 and 2020. These excess deaths are predominantly attributable to chronic conditions like heart disease or cancer.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that the elevated mortality risk among Black Americans is largely explained by greater stress exposure across the lifespan as well as inflammation in later life.
The research came from a unique longitudinal study, the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) Study, that has followed older adults for nearly 20 years. WashU graduate student Isaiah Spears “saw the stark difference between the rate in which our Black participants in the sample have been dying relative to the white participants,” and wanted dig into the question of what might be contributing to these racial disparities.
Spears led this research with support from his adviser Ryan Bogdan, the William R. Stuckenberg Professor in Human Values and Moral Development who directs the BRAIN lab in the department of psychological and brain sciences in Art & Sciences as well as other WashU coauthors.
Bogdan noted that the SPAN data offered an opportunity to develop a “cumulative stress index” since it includes a longitudinal cohort with ample data from blood draws and surveys over almost 20 years as well as retrospective reports of experiences during childhood. Much of the research on racial disparities has focused on overt experiences of discrimination (like being turned down for a loan), that may not capture the disadvantage associated with structural racism that generates elevated stress exposure that may prematurely weather individuals to negatively impact health.
Spears wanted to take the “lifespan view” of stress exposure to test whether a heightened burden of chronic stress and its associations with inflammation may plausibly drive elevated mortality risk among Black Americans... (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: Black Americans die younger than their White counterparts, with an estimated 1.63 million “excess” deaths having occurred between 1999 and 2020. These excess deaths are predominantly attributable to chronic conditions like heart disease or cancer.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that the elevated mortality risk among Black Americans is largely explained by greater stress exposure across the lifespan as well as inflammation in later life.
The research came from a unique longitudinal study, the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) Study, that has followed older adults for nearly 20 years. WashU graduate student Isaiah Spears “saw the stark difference between the rate in which our Black participants in the sample have been dying relative to the white participants,” and wanted dig into the question of what might be contributing to these racial disparities.
Spears led this research with support from his adviser Ryan Bogdan, the William R. Stuckenberg Professor in Human Values and Moral Development who directs the BRAIN lab in the department of psychological and brain sciences in Art & Sciences as well as other WashU coauthors.
Bogdan noted that the SPAN data offered an opportunity to develop a “cumulative stress index” since it includes a longitudinal cohort with ample data from blood draws and surveys over almost 20 years as well as retrospective reports of experiences during childhood. Much of the research on racial disparities has focused on overt experiences of discrimination (like being turned down for a loan), that may not capture the disadvantage associated with structural racism that generates elevated stress exposure that may prematurely weather individuals to negatively impact health.
Spears wanted to take the “lifespan view” of stress exposure to test whether a heightened burden of chronic stress and its associations with inflammation may plausibly drive elevated mortality risk among Black Americans... (MORE - details, no ads)