Body mass index mediates the direct association of subjective social status and hypertension in a fulani west African immigrant sample.

The inverse association between social status and hypertension (HTN) often observed in native-born populations may not hold among immigrants from regions where larger bodies are markers of success. Qualitative evidence suggests that many African immigrant groups view larger body size as a marker of social status. The present study examined the relationships between subjective social status, body mass index (BMI), and HTN in a cross-sectional, community snowball sample of 218 West African Fulani immigrants living in New York City. Over a third of the sample met criteria for HTN. Higher subjective social status within the Fulani community was directly associated with higher likelihood of HTN. BMI fully mediated this association. Member checking revealed a community narrative in which being heavy indicated higher status. These findings provide the first quantitative evidence that aesthetic markers of status within African immigrant communities may comprise risks to cardiovascular health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Changes in social status and postmigration mental health among West African immigrants.

Immigration comes with rapid changes in social status that have effects on mental health. Research with nonimmigrant populations has identified relevant social status indicators, but these indicators are not sufficient to address changes that are uniquely relevant to immigrants. This study aimed to identify social status indicators that change during the process of migration and to examine their association with distress using variable- and person-centered analyses. We used data from an archival dataset of West African immigrants in New York City. Pre- and postmigration changes across work, marriage, language use, urbanism, and residency status were used to assess whether positive, negative, or no change in social status had occurred. Changes in social status indicators across migration were predicted to account for variance in mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety, depression, somatization, and posttraumatic stress) beyond premigration potentially traumatic events (PTE). Several social status indicators predicted wellbeing in this population and accounted for variance in distress beyond premigration PTEs. Ward's method clustering suggested that 3 distinct social status profiles were characterized primarily by changes in work and marriage. The cluster with the greatest positive changes in work was almost all female and had the highest depression scores. These findings suggest that the impact of change in social status across immigration is not uniform across social status indicators. Additionally, changing gender roles across migration appear to have an influential impact on postmigration social status and mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A Systematic Review of Treatments for Problematic Khat Use.

Khat, a psychostimulant cultivated and commonly used in Eastern Africa and the Arabian penin-sula, has a longstanding history of use embedded within the cultures of these regions. Due to changing patterns of use and the adverse effects of dependence, khat has become a growing pub- lic health concern. Despite extensive findings regarding the detrimental psychiatric, physical, and social consequences of khat dependence, research on interventions in this area is glaringly sparse. The present paper aims to summarize the consequences of chronic khat use and review existing research on interventions.