Racial and ethnic differences in blood pressure before and after the 2016 United States general election

Objectives The 2016 U.S. presidential election was a major source of stress among many adults. Psychosocial stress can manifest physiologically in elevated blood pressure (BP). Little is known regarding the association of macro‐level sociopolitical events with BP changes at the population‐level. This study sought to characterize population‐level changes in BP following the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Methods Using 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we included participants aged ≥18 years during the same periods prior to (May to October 2015/2016) and after (May to October 2017/2018) the election. Survey‐weighted data were analyzed to compare population‐level systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) pre‐ and post‐election, stratified by race/ethnicity. Sex differences were also investigated. Results We observed significant increases in SBP among non‐Hispanic (NH) Asian participants (+3.4 mmHg; p = .046), but not among other racial/ethnic participants. DBP increased among NH Black participants (+2.3 mmHg; p = .049) and Mexican American participants (+2.9 mmHg; p = .007), but not among other racial/ethnic participants. These changes appeared attributable to differential BP changes by sex. Conclusions At the population‐level, variable changes in BP were observed by race/ethnicity following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, possibly driven by SBP elevations among women.