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(CNN) - The restrictive immigration policies of the United States are having an impact on the health of immigrant women, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers at the University of California analyzed cardiovascular disease risk factors among the majority of Latino women in the United States who feared deportation, either for themselves or their families, and found a higher risk of high blood pressure and others heart disease.
For privacy reasons, the researchers did not reveal whether the women were U.S. residents or undocumented immigrants.
Jacqueline Torres, author of the study and assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, said the conclusion is important.
"One reason is that it tracks the long-term impact of immigration policy and enforcement," said Torres. "It's about broader impacts in our community."
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Previous studies have shown a link between concern about deportation and depression, anxiety and higher levels of inflammation. This latest study now shows a link between fears of deportation and high blood pressure.
The scientists looked at 572 women with an average of 39 years over a period of four years and found that almost half, or 48%, reported "a lot" of what the researchers called "concern about deportation"; 24% expressed a "moderate" amount of concern; 28% said "not so much".
Among 408 of the participants who did not have high blood pressure when the study began, those who reported "much" or "moderate" concern about possible deportation had a higher risk of experiencing hypertension, compared to those who reported "not too much concern" .
"I was not surprised," said cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg, director of the NYU Women's Health Center, about the findings.
"We know that when people are stressed or worried, their blood pressure increases," Goldberg said.
Goldberg said the study's findings follow other known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which include too much fat in the abdominal section, a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits.
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The researchers also measured the impact of concern about deportation on diastolic blood pressure, the lower number in a blood pressure reading that measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats, and found only a weak link. Nor did they find a significant link between concern about deportation and body mass index, waist circumference or pulse pressure.
"Concern about deportation can contribute to increasing disparities in some risk factors and cardiovascular disease outcomes over time," the researchers concluded, but also noted that little is known about the long-term impact of restrictive immigration policies. in the health of immigrants in general or in cardiovascular diseases or risk factors, specifically.
"We need more research," Torres said. "These are our neighbors, the people who work in our communities ... we should worry about how politics affects communities."
Heart disease