Keith and Martin Awarded Leadership Prize for Publication on Social Determinants of Hypertension Among Mothers-to-Be

Posted: 2/13/2025 ()

Hypertension has been identified as a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States, and one that disproportionately impacts Black mothers. In a recent paper that was awarded the Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for the best paper published in Women’s Health Issues in 2024, CSDE Affiliates Monica Keith (Vanderbilt University) and Melanie Martin (Anthropology) demonstrate the impacts of social environments on hypertensive risk as measured by allostatic load among pregnant women. Study findings show that measures of social environments such as household income and partnered status were stronger predictors of hypertensive risk than behavioral factors, with strongest effects observed for Black women. Read the full study here.