This document contains information about Stephen Hansell, a professor in the Department of Sociology at Rutgers University. It also provides details about an upcoming exam on epidemiology on Monday, October 5th from 9:50-11:10 AM. Students must bring pencils and know their RUID number. The rest of the document covers lecture material on the epidemiology of high blood pressure and gunshot deaths, including comparisons between modern and hunter-gatherer societies and factors influencing health like socioeconomic status.

1. Stephen Hansell, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Institute for Health Research
http://sakai.rutgers.edu
shansell@rci.rutgers.edu
609-203-2830

3. EXAM

4. EXAM
Monday 10/5

5. EXAM
Monday 10/5
9:50-11:10

6. EXAM
Monday 10/5
9:50-11:10
Bring Pencils

7. EXAM
Monday 10/5
9:50-11:10
Bring Pencils
You must know your RUID

8. Class 8 – More Epidemiology

9. II. Epidemiology of high blood pressure (BP)
A. Basic Facts
1. Silent Killer
B. Group differences in high blood pressure
1. Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban and Mexican
Americans tend to have higher BP
2. Lower education and income are associated with
higher BP

10. C. High blood pressure is a disease of modern society
1. Stage 1 of human life
a. Hunter-gatherer - undisrupted society
» small family based tribes. All the people of the tribe are
interrelated
2. Stage 2
a. Agriculture - disrupted peasant societies
» people lost control over their lives and now the owner
dictated what to do and so the blood pressure went up
3. Stage 3
a. Modern complex societies - industrial, service based
» the extended kin network is gone and family relationships
are also. it is a fast pace life so we have the highest average
blood pressure

11. III. Hypotheses about causes of essential hypertension
A. Salt consumption
1. Moderns eat more salt than hunter-gatherers
– most people did not have any salt
– salt intake may affect bp... it is NOT the main cause for high bp
B. Genetic transmission
1. High BP is 20% genetic
1. but its NOT the main cause either
2. africa has higher bp and us .... study... blacks vs whites,
black had higher bp than the whites!
3. humans evolved to focus on one thing at a time... so you are
never multitasking, you are just changing attention from time
to time
4. living in cities is more stressful, the incidence of mental
illness in higher in cities
C. Stress

12. D. Disadvantages of modern life
1. Disruption of social communities
– poeple with the fewest social ties is the highest.
Especially after a divorce etc
– families no longer live and work together
2. Increase in time pressure and lack of control of work
– moving. The average number of moves for an americal in
4 times in their lives. People with higher education move
more
– destruction of kin network
3. Wars are stressful – PTSD
1. our country has been at war almost always in the past
50 years so not only the family suffer but there is also
economies got destroyed
2. Oppressed groups in society tend to have higher BP
4. unemployment - its called “downsizing”

13. IV. Can you adapt to stress and reduce BP?
A. Community interventions have failed
1. Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT)
– study - result- you cannot just lecture people about health
to change their health behavior. you need to change their
lifestyle
B. Individuals can reduce stress and BP
1. Relaxation response - meditation
– meditation always works
C. Need primary prevention rather than medical model
of treating symptoms

14. E. Pattern: higher SES strongly associated with better
health
1. SES more important than race or culture in
determining physical and mental health
– SES socio economic status - how wel to go you are
– occupational prestige - how low or high
– how much education do you have - the more years the
healther you are
– income - the richer you are the less stress you have!
–

15. 2. How does poverty degrade health?
a. Poor people often lack insurance
b. Low education (best predictor of health)
» higher education elongate your life span
c. Lack of income
» poor people have less bathrooms
» you eat cheaper food
» our country has a wider income inequality
which is worse than japan or sweden
d. Undesirable occupations
» poor people are forced to take jobs no one
else wants.... which increases risk eg taxi

16. I. Epidemiology of Gunshot Deaths
A. Gunshot deaths unique US problem
• gun shot deaths are in theory all preventable, not
like chronic diseases
• 11% of children die of gun shots
• 17% of adolescents die of gun shots
• 41% of all death in african american die of gun
shots
• it is a unique problem in US
B. Gun in the home increases odds of gunshot deaths
C. Owning a gun increases chances of victim being
killed when criminal breaks into home

17. Stephen Hansell, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Institute for Health Research
http://sakai.rutgers.edu
shansell@rci.rutgers.edu
609-203-2830