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Crowding: Its effects on the elevation of blood pressure in a prison setting

1975; Elsevier BV; Volume: 4; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0091-7435(75)90041-9

1096-0260

David A. DʼAtri, Adrian M. Ostfeld,

Stress Responses and Cortisol

Overcrowding in several mammalian species has been shown to induce hypertension, adrenal gland hyperactivity, and excessive mortality rates. Data on German prisoners of war in World War II and an extrapolation of Harburg's studies in high and low stress census tracts in Detroit suggest a similar relationship in man. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the acute and, to some extent, long-term relationship between overcrowding, as defined by housing mode, on the one hand and blood pressure levels and pulse rate on the other. The work employed 412 male inmates and was carried out within three correctional institutions. Each of these institutions had several modes of housing inmates, including single occupancy cells and dormitories. The major research hypothesis that there would be an association between degree of crowding and blood pressure, systolic and diastolic; and pulse rate was strongly supported. Blood pressure was found to be curvilinearly related to duration of confinement, with higher levels in the first 2 weeks of confinement and following the end of the first month. This curvilinear relationship between blood pressure and duration of confinement may indicate the presence of two mechanisms involved with blood pressure elevation: the first, a reaction to acute stress or fright; the second, a response due to overcrowding.