Loneliness, social support and cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress

Self-reported or explicit loneliness and social support have been inconsistently associated with cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress. The present study aimed to adapt an implicit measure of loneliness, and use it alongside the measures of explicit loneliness and social support, to investigate their correlations with CVR to laboratory stress. Twenty-five female volunteers aged between 18 and 39 years completed self-reported measures of loneliness and social support, and an Implicit Association Test (IAT) of loneliness. The systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) reactivity indices were measured in response to psychosocial stress induced in the laboratory. Functional support indices of social support were significantly correlated with CVR reactivity to stress. Interestingly, implicit, but not explicit, loneliness was significantly correlated with DBP reactivity after one of the stressors. No associations were found between structural support and CVR indices. Results are discussed in terms of validity of implicit versus explicit measures and possible factors that affect physiological outcomes

Dissociation of Cerebral Blood Flow and Femoral Artery Blood Pressure Pulsatility After Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation in a Rodent Model: Implications for Neurological Recovery.

Background Impaired neurological function affects 85% to 90% of cardiac arrest (CA) survivors. Pulsatile blood flow may play an important role in neurological recovery after CA. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) pulsatility immediately, during, and after CA and resuscitation has not been investigated. We characterized the effects of asphyxial CA on short-term (<2 hours after CA) CBF and femoral arterial blood pressure (ABP) pulsatility and studied their relationship to cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) and short-term neuroelectrical recovery. Methods and Results Male rats underwent asphyxial CA followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A multimodal platform combining laser speckle imaging, ABP, and electroencephalography to monitor CBF, peripheral blood pressure, and brain electrophysiology, respectively, was used. CBF and ABP pulsatility and CVR were assessed during baseline, CA, and multiple time points after resuscitation. Neuroelectrical recovery, a surrogate for neurological outcome, was assessed using quantitative electroencephalography 90 minutes after resuscitation. We found that CBF pulsatility differs significantly from baseline at all experimental time points with sustained deficits during the 2 hours of postresuscitation monitoring, whereas ABP pulsatility was relatively unaffected. Alterations in CBF pulsatility were inversely correlated with changes in CVR, but ABP pulsatility had no association to CVR. Interestingly, despite small changes in ABP pulsatility, higher ABP pulsatility was associated with worse neuroelectrical recovery, whereas CBF pulsatility had no association. Conclusions Our results reveal, for the first time, that CBF pulsatility and CVR are significantly altered in the short-term postresuscitation period after CA. Nevertheless, higher ABP pulsatility appears to be inversely associated with neuroelectrical recovery, possibly caused by impaired cerebral autoregulation and/or more severe global cerebral ischemia

How does gender influence the recognition of cardiovascular risk and adherence to self-care recommendations? : a study in polish primary care

Background: Studies have shown a correlation between gender and an ability to change lifestyle to reduce the risk of disease. However, the results of these studies are ambiguous, especially where a healthy lifestyle is concerned. Additionally, health behaviors are strongly modified by culture and the environment. Psychological factors also substantially affect engagement with disease-related lifestyle interventions. This study aimed to examine whether there are differences between men and women in the frequency of health care behavior for the purpose of reducing cardiovascular risk (CVR), as well as cognitive appraisal of this type of risk. We also aimed to identify the psychological predictors of engaging in recommended behavior for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease after providing information about this risk in men and women. Methods: A total of 134 consecutive eligible patients in a family practice entered a longitudinal study. At initial consultation, the individual’s CVR and associated health burden was examined, and preventive measures were recommended by the physician. Self-care behavior, cognitive appraisal of risk, and coping styles were then assessed using psychological questionnaires. Six months after the initial data collection, the frequency of subjects’ self-care behavior was examined. Results: We found an increase in health care behavior after providing information regarding the rate of CVR in both sexes; this increase was greater for women than for men. Women followed self-care guidelines more often than men, particularly for preventive measures and dietary advice. Women were more inclined to recognize their CVR as a challenge. Coping style, cognitive appraisal, age, level of health behaviors at baseline and CVR values accounted for 48% of the variance in adherence to self-care guidelines in women and it was 52% in men. In women, total risk of CVD values were most important, while in men, cognitive appraisal of harm/loss was most important. Conclusions: Different predictors of acquisition of health behavior are encountered in men and women. Our results suggest that gender-adjusted motivation models influencing the recognition process need to be considered to optimize compliance in patients with CVR

Association of occult chronic kidney disease with cardiovascular risk and their risk factors in university workers

Occult chronic kidney disease (OCKD) and cardiovascular risk (CVR) share risk factors that trigger chronic degenerative diseases. Aim. To assess the association of OCKD with CVR and its risk factors in a sample of university workers. Material and methods. This is a crosssectional study. From 89 volunteers the lipid profile, glucose, urea, creatinine and uric acid were obtained from blood as well as anthropometric measures and blood pressure. They were classified by their CVR calculated by the Framingham equation, into the groups: with-CVR and without-CVR; and by their glomerular filtration rate (GFR) into: with-OCKD and without-OCKD. Then into subgroups of each CVR factor (CVRF): sex, smoking, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension. The statistical differences between groups (p <0.05) and the correlation between CVR and GFR and the odds ratio (OR) for each CVRF were determined. Results. A negative correlation between the OCKD and the CVR was obtained for men (p = - 0.743, p = 0.000) and women (p = - 0.874, p = 0.000). The overall prevalence of hypertension was 23.6% (OR = 15.43 for CVR, 95% CI, 4.04 - 58.95, OR = 14.75 for OCKD, 95% CI 2.76 - 78.23) and older than 50 years of 33.7% (OR for CVR = 20.37, 95% CI, 6.25 - 66.43). Conclusions. OCKD is strongly associated with the CVR. Furthermore, each CVRF impacts in different range and level to the development of cardiovascular disease and kidney failure

Cosmological models in energy-momentum-squared gravity

We study the cosmological effects of adding terms of higher-order in the usual energy-momentum tensor to the matter lagrangian of general relativity. This is in contrast to most studies of higher-order gravity which focus on generalising the Einstein-Hilbert curvature contribution to the lagrangian. The resulting cosmological theories give rise to field equations of similar form to several particular theories with different fundamental bases, including bulk viscous cosmology, loop quantum gravity, K-essence, and brane-world cosmologies. We find a range of exact solutions for isotropic universes, discuss their behaviours with reference to the early and late-time evolution, accelerated expansion, and the occurrence or avoidance of singularities. We briefly discuss extensions to anisotropic cosmologies and delineate the situations where the higher-order matter terms will dominate over anisotropies on approach to cosmological singularities

Association of occult chronic kidney disease with cardiovascular risk and their risk factors in university workers

Occult chronic kidney disease (OCKD) and cardiovascular risk (CVR) share risk factors that trigger chronic degenerative diseases. Aim. To assess the association of OCKD with CVR and its risk factors in a sample of university workers. Material and methods. This is a crosssectional study. From 89 volunteers the lipid profile, glucose, urea, creatinine and uric acid were obtained from blood as well as anthropometric measures and blood pressure. They were classified by their CVR calculated by the Framingham equation, into the groups: with-CVR and without-CVR; and by their glomerular filtration rate (GFR) into: with-OCKD and without-OCKD. Then into subgroups of each CVR factor (CVRF): sex, smoking, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension. The statistical differences between groups (p &lt;0.05) and the correlation between CVR and GFR and the odds ratio (OR) for each CVRF were determined. Results. A negative correlation between the OCKD and the CVR was obtained for men (&rho; = - 0.743, p = 0.000) and women (&rho; = - 0.874, p = 0.000). The overall prevalence of hypertension was 23.6% (OR = 15.43 for CVR, 95% CI, 4.04 - 58.95, OR = 14.75 for OCKD, 95% CI 2.76 - 78.23) and older than 50 years of 33.7% (OR for CVR = 20.37, 95% CI, 6.25 - 66.43). Conclusions. OCKD is strongly associated with the CVR. Furthermore, each CVRF impacts in different range and level to the development of cardiovascular disease and kidney failure

Surveillance of fetal lung lesions using the congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio: natural history and outcomes

ObjectivesThe congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio (CVR) is a widely used sonographic measure of relative mass size in fetuses with lung malformations. The purposes of this study were to examine serial CVR measurements to understand longitudinal growth patterns and to determine correlation with postnatal imaging.MethodsAn institutional review boardâ approved retrospective review was performed on fetuses referred for an echogenic lung malformation between 2002 and 2014. For each fetus, the CVR was prospectively calculated using 2D ultrasound and followed with advancing gestation.ResultsBased on 40 fetuses, the mean initial CVR was 0.51â ±â 0.07 at 20.5â ±â 0.3â weeks of gestation. The CVR increased after 24â weeks of gestation (pâ =â 0.0014), peaking at a CVR of 0.96â ±â 0.11 at 25.5â ±â 0.05â weeks, followed by a significant decrease in the CVR to 0.43â ±â 0.07 prior to term (pâ <â 0.0001). However, approximately one third showed no appreciable increase in size. The mean CVR was significantly correlated with postnatal chest computed tomography (CT) size dimensions (pâ =â 0.0032) and likelihood for lung resection (pâ =â 0.0055).ConclusionsFetal lung malformations tend to follow one of two distinct growth patterns, characterized by either (1) a maximal CVR between 25 and 26â weeks of gestation or (2) minimal change in relative growth. The mean CVR correlates with postnatal CT size and operative management. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.What’s already known about the topic?The congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio (CVR) is a common prenatal ultrasound measure of relative mass size in fetuses with lung malformations.The initial CVR and maximum CVR have been shown to be predictive of hydrops and neonatal respiratory compromise, respectively.What does this study add?Gestational age is important when interpreting CVR measurements because two thirds of lesions increase in size at 25â 26â weeks before spontaneous involution occurs.The mean CVR correlates with size measured by postnatal computed tomography scan.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136421/1/pd4761_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136421/2/pd4761.pd