Household Disorder and Blood Pressure in Mother–Child Dyads: A Brief Report

High blood pressure (BP) is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although factors outside the home, such as crime and noise, have been associated with high BP in women and children, it is unknown if disorder within the home (household disorder) influences BP. We tested the hypothesis that women and children with more household disorder would have higher BP, independent of age, race, sodium intake, and body mass index (BMI). This study was a secondary analysis of data from mother–child dyads (n = 216). Mothers were 87% African American, 34 ± 5 years old, with BMI 33.59 ± 9.43 kg/m². Children were 7 ± 2 (range: 4–10) years of age with BMI z score 0.60 ± 2.07. Household disorder was measured by the Confusion Hubbub and Order Scale. Mother–child dyads were assessed for weight, height, BP (adults), BP percentile (children), energy intake, and sodium intake. The relationship between household disorder and BP was evaluated using Pearson’s partial correlation coefficients. In fully adjusted models, household disorder was positively associated with systolic BP for mothers (r = 0.15, p <.05) and tended to be positively associated with diastolic BP (r = 0.11, p =.10). For the children, household disorder was not associated with systolic or diastolic BP percentile. This study’s results suggest that household disorder is positively associated with higher BP in adult women, but not their children. Nevertheless, these data suggest that interventions to address household disorder could benefit maternal BP and potentially improve long-term CVD outcomes.