Intergenerational educational mobility, discrimination, and hypertension in adults from Southern Brazil

Systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) or high blood pressure a serious global public health problem marked by social inequalities. There are few studies on SAH in Brazil with a life-course theoretical perspective. The current article aims to analyze the relationship between intergenerational educational mobility (IEM) and SAH in Brazilian adults, verifying the impact of interpersonal and color/"race" discrimination on this relationship. The authors analyzed data from 1,720 adults (20-59 years) and their parents in the EpiFloripa Adult Study. Random-effects multilevel regression models were estimated. The fixed effects showed an inverse relationship between IEM and odds of SAH, with statistical significance for high IEM (paternal model: OR = 0.39, p = 0.006; maternal model: OR = 0.35, p = 0.002; and family model: OR = 0.35, p = 0.001). Meanwhile, interaction models showed that situations of discrimination can act jointly with unfavorable IEM, increasing the odds of SAH, especially among black and brown individuals. The study concludes that persistently high IEM is capable of significantly reducing the odds of SAH, while discrimination can intensify the effect of low education, especially in socially marginalized population segments.