In its second year, UF’s Biobehavioral Research Center sponsors three new studies
The University of Florida’s Biobehavioral Research Center is helping to bridge the gap between biological and behavioral research to improve health care. The center, founded in 2001 with a $670,000 National Institute of Nursing Research grant, now is initiating three new pilot studies, which focus on socioeconomic factors that may contribute to high blood pressure in women; exercise and schizophrenia; and heart rate variability and learning in premature infants.
Relationships between social determinants and hypertension Women with lower socioeconomic status are 1.6 times more likely to develop hypertension than those in higher economic groups. While behavioral factors such as diet and exercise contribute to this disparity, there is evidence that stressful everyday living conditions may be an important factor in blood pressure elevation over time.
UF nursing researcher Shawn Kneipp, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., is exploring how socioeconomic factors contribute to chronic stress in women and may lead to hypertension.
“What we have learned is that lifestyle and genetics only explain approximately 60 percent of hypertension and cardiovascular disease,” said Kneipp, a UF College of Nursing assistant professor. “Stress associated with socioeconomic factors has received little attention despite the fact that increasing evidence indicates that stress is a determinant of hypertension development whether or not a woman has a healthy lifestyle.”
Kneipp is examining the relationships between stress and blood pressure over time among women in three socioeconomic groups with existing risk factors for hypertension. One of the main purposes of the study is to examine the role that social determinants play in contributing to cardiovascular health disparities.
Using a sample of 45 women ages 30 to 50, Kneipp is examining known risk factors, personal factors and situational factors, and is considering their simultaneous effects on hypertension. These factors are compared to the participants’ blood pressure and heart rate, which are measured by an ambulatory blood pressure monitor that remains with the participants. Data are collected at the onset of the project and after three months.
Combining exercise and mental health
About 1.9 million Americans suffer from the mental health disease schizophrenia, which creates a life expectancy for those afflicted that is 20 percent shorter than the general population. Recent breakthroughs in pharmaceuticals have created a family of drugs better in treating schizophrenic symptoms, yet may increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease for individuals who already have numerous barriers to optimal health.
UF nursing researcher and College of Nursing Assistant Professor Lora Beebe, Ph.D., R.N., is exploring the effects a regular exercise program can have on improving overall physical and mental health in schizophrenic patients who are using these drugs. Approximately 75 percent of people with schizophrenia smoke more than two packs of cigarettes a day, and many lead sedentary lifestyles.
Beebe is conducting a research study involving people with schizophrenia who receive outpatient care at the Gainesville branch of the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. She is evaluating the effectiveness of a 16-week aerobic exercise group in increasing aerobic fitness, reducing body fat, reducing psychopathology and improving health status of a randomly assigned group of 20 people with schizophrenia.
“If we can provide those suffering from mental illnesses education on how to foster their physical well-being, we can help them to achieve a generally healthier lifestyle—as stable and symptom-free as possible,” Beebe said.
Assessing the role of the maternal voice
Studies conducted in the area of fetal development suggest that the maternal voice, in conjunction with other factors, serves to induce normal development and is integral to the infant’s learning of native language. Yet it is not known how early these interactions between the mother’s voice and the infant begin.
UF nursing researcher and Assistant Professor Charlene Krueger, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., is examining 28 low-risk premature infants at 27 to 28 weeks post-conceptional age in the neonatal intensive care unit at Shands at UF. One group of infants is exposed to a recording of a nursery rhyme recited by their mothers beginning at 28 weeks gestation. The other group begins its exposure to the nursery rhyme at 32 weeks gestation. Power spectral analysis is performed to determine changes in heart rate variability. Small heart rate decelerations in response to presentation of the nursery rhyme are analyzed to determine when familiarity to the nursery rhyme emerges.
“Very few studies have followed infants longitudinally all the way through the developmental period when the autonomic nervous system is reaching functional maturity,” Krueger said.
Krueger hopes that findings from this and future studies can be used as tools to assess for risk status earlier and enhance our understanding of the impact exposure to the maternal voice has on developmental outcomes.