to assess the health consequences of macro-stressors. Such efforts could utilize some of the strategies used in the larger stress literature such as creatively using hospital admissions and vital statistics data. Future research needs to identify the extent to which major race-related stressors can initiate new disease processes or exacerbate existing disease. There is no agreement in the stress literature on the length of time from the emotional trigger from a macro-stressor to the onset of symptoms. However, some research suggests that cardiac mortality tends to be elevated for at least 6 months post-bereavement (Bhattacharyya and Steptoe 2007).
