Trauma and Cardiometabolic Health in an American Indian Community

Volunteers for the study are asked to participate in two laboratory sessions. In the first laboratory session, volunteers are asked to provide a blood sample which will be used to measure factors related to health. Participants also complete questionnaires related to demographic and health-related information and undergo evaluations of their body composition. In the second laboratory visit, participants are asked to have cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and inflammatory activity measured during a brief period of rest and during a short challenging psychological task. Participants will also complete questionnaires. The study is designed to examine the associations between experiences such as trauma and resiliency with changes in bodily systems during a challenge and current health.

This cross-sectional study will examine the association between factors of resiliency and trauma with physiological (cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, inflammatory) responses to acute stress and current mental and physical health. Study volunteers will include individuals who identify as American Indian and currently live on and near the Blackfeet Reservation. Study volunteers will be asked to provide information that will be used to measure: correlates of cardiometabolic and mental health, acute psychological stress, arterial stiffness. Results of the study will help increase knowledge of cardiometabolic and mental health in the context of past and ongoing trauma and resiliency.