Concern about how police might treat their children may be taking a measurable toll on Black women’s cardiovascular health, according to new research from North Carolina State University. A study of 422 Black women found that worry about police interactions was associated with physical markers of heart disease risk.
Researchers measured carotid intima-media thickness in participants aged 30 to 46, a marker that indicates cardiovascular risk when elevated. Women were classified into three groups based on their concerns about police and their own experiences with law enforcement harassment.
The findings revealed a striking pattern. Black women who worried about their children’s potential police encounters showed thicker artery measurements than women who had personally experienced police harassment but had no children or weren’t concerned about their kids’ safety. Women with moderate child concern and those with high child concern both showed comparable artery thickness.
Lori Hoggard, the study’s corresponding author and assistant professor of psychology, noted that prior research has focused primarily on Black men. She explained that even women without direct harassment experience showed elevated risk markers if they worried about their children.
“This study can only show correlation, not causation, but it suggests that the stress caused by worrying about their children’s interactions with police may be greater than the stress that Black women are experiencing with regard to their own potential interactions with police,” Hoggard said.
Black women already face higher cardiovascular disease rates than their counterparts and receive earlier diagnoses. Hoggard emphasized that these findings underscore the need for policy solutions addressing the underlying challenges contributing to this stress.
See: “Police-related stress tied to health risk for Black women” (January 20, 2026)
