The effects of the spontaneous presence of a spouse/partner and others on cardiovascular reactions to an acute psychological challenge

The presence of supportive others has been associated with attenuated cardiovascular reactivity in the laboratory. The effects of the presence of a spouse and others in a more naturalistic setting have received little attention. Blood pressure and heart rate reactions to mental stress were recorded at home in 1028 married/partnered individuals. For 112 participants, their spouse/partner was present; for 78, at least one other person was present. Women tested with a spouse/partner present showed lower magnitude systolic blood pressure and heart rate reactivity than those tested without. Individuals tested with at least one nonspousal other present also displayed attenuated reactivity. This extends the results of laboratory studies and indicates that the spontaneous presence of others is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular reactivity in an everyday environment; spouse/partner presence would appear to be especially effective for women.\ud \u

The Double Burden of Racial Discrimination in Daily-Life Moments: Increases in Negative Emotions and Depletion of Psychosocial Resources Among Emerging Adult African Americans

Objective: Racial discrimination is a common experience for African Americans, but no research has examined how discrimination reported in daily-life moments influences concurrent negative emotions and psychosocial resources. Method: Emerging adult African Americans (N = 54) reported hourly on momentary racial discrimination, negative emotions, and psychosocial resources across two days. Results: Controlling for past discrimination and trait emotion, momentary racial discrimination was associated with greater negative emotions and lower psychosocial resources (ps \u3c .05). The relationship between momentary racial discrimination and negative emotions was stronger among individuals residing in areas with fewer African Americans (simple slope p \u3c .0001). The relationship between momentary racial discrimination and psychosocial resources was stronger among individuals reporting greater past discrimination (simple slope p \u3c .0001). Vicarious discrimination (exposure to discrimination experienced by another person) was associated with higher negative emotions, p \u3c .01, but not with psychosocial resources. Conclusion: These results are the first to demonstrate that personal and vicarious racial discrimination are associated with negative emotions and lower coping resources in daily-life moments and that contextual factors modify these associations. Results refine our understanding of the immediate sequelae of discrimination in daily life and point to possible targets for ecological momentary interventions

Cardiovascular reactivity in a simulated job interview: the role of gender role self-concept

This study investigated the relation of gender role self-concept (G-SC) to cardiovascular and emotional reactions to an ecologically relevant stressor in a sample of graduating male and female university students. Thirty-seven men and 37 women completed the Personal Attribute Questionnaire and worked on four tasks designed to reflect common features of a job interview. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured at baseline, during, and after each task; subjective stress was measured at baseline and after each task. Subjective and objective stress scores were averaged across tasks and analyzed by sex and G-SC (i.e., instrumentality, expressiveness). Results indicated that women as a group demonstrated greater emotional reactivity, but did not differ in their physiological reactions when compared to men. Regardless of sex, participants’ instrumentality scores contributed significantly to the variation in subjective stress response: those scoring high on instrumentality reported less stress, but evidenced greater blood pressure reactivity than those scoring low on instrumentality. These results suggest that gender roles, particularly an instrumental self-concept, may play an important role in both subjective and objective reactions to an ecologically relevant stressor

Stress in nurses : stress-related affect and its determinants examined over the nursing day

Peer reviewedPostprin

Effects of a laboratory-based aerobic exercise intervention on brain volume and cardiovascular health markers: protocol for a randomised clinical trial

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity (PA) has beneficial effects on brain health and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Yet, we know little about whether PA-induced changes to physiological mediators of CVD risk influence brain health and whether benefits to brain health may also explain PA-induced improvements to CVD risk. This study combines neurobiological and peripheral physiological methods in the context of a randomised clinical trial to better understand the links between exercise, brain health and CVD risk. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this 12-month trial, 130 healthy individuals between the ages of 26 and 58 will be randomly assigned to either: (1) moderate-intensity aerobic PA for 150 min/week or (2) a health information control group. Cardiovascular, neuroimaging and PA measurements will occur for both groups before and after the intervention. Primary outcomes include changes in (1) brain structural areas (ie, hippocampal volume); (2) systolic blood pressure (SBP) responses to functional MRI cognitive stressor tasks and (3) heart rate variability. The main secondary outcomes include changes in (1) brain activity, resting state connectivity, cortical thickness and cortical volume; (2) daily life SBP stress reactivity; (3) negative and positive affect; (4) baroreflex sensitivity; (5) pulse wave velocity; (6) endothelial function and (7) daily life positive and negative affect. Our results are expected to have both mechanistic and public health implications regarding brain-body interactions in the context of cardiovascular health. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained from the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board (IRB ID: 19020218). This study will comply with the NIH Data Sharing Policy and Policy on the Dissemination of NIH-Funded Clinical Trial Information and the Clinical Trials Registration and Results Information Submission rule. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03841669

Reduced low-frequency heart rate variability relates to greater intimal–medial thickness of the carotid wall in two samples

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55412/1/Gautier C, Reduced low-frequency heart rate variability, 2007.pd

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

Marital status and mortality among Japanese men and women: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have indicated a significant association between marital status and mortality risks. However, most of these studies have compared married and unmarried people without differentiating among single, divorced and widowed status. Moreover, gender differences in mortality rates associated with marital status have not been sufficiently clarified. With significant increases in the percentages of divorced and widowed people and a corresponding drop in the marriage rate in Japan during the past two or three decades, it can be expected that these changes will have a significant impact on mortality rates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This investigation used a prospective study of a total of 94,062 Japanese men and women aged 40–79 who completed self-administered questionnaires at baseline and during a followed-up of 9.9-years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with married men, never-married men showed higher risks of mortality from cardiovascular disease [relative risk (RR) = 3.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.03–4.60], respiratory disease (RR = 2.43, 95%CI 1.27–4.63), external causes (RR = 2.18, 95%CI 1.05–4.54) and all causes (RR = 1.91, 95%CI 1.51–2.42) after adjustment for potentially confounding variables. For never-married women, there was a smaller but significantly higher risk of mortality from all causes (RR = 1.46, 95%CI 1.15–1.84). Divorced and widowed men showed moderately higher risks of mortality from cardiovascular disease, external causes and all causes compared with married men, but such a trend was not observed in women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Single status was associated with a higher risk of mortality than was married status for both men and women. Divorce and widowhood were associated with elevated risk for men, but not for women. These findings suggest single, divorce and widowhood status constitute potentially adverse health effects.</p

Heart rate reactivity is associated with future cognitive ability and cognitive change in a large community sample

The relationship between cardiovascular reactions to acute mental challenge in the laboratory and cognitive ability has received scant attention. The present study examined the association between reactivity and future cognitive ability. Heart rate and blood pressure reactions to a mental stress task were measured in 1647 participants comprising three distinct age cohorts. Cognitive ability was assessed using the Alice Heim-4 test of general intelligence and choice reaction time five and 12 years later. High heart rate reactivity was related to higher general intelligence scores and faster choice reaction times at both follow-ups. High heart rate reactivity was also associated with a smaller decline in cognitive ability between assessments. These associations were still evident following adjustment for a wide range of potentially confounding variables. The present results are consistent with the notion that high reactivity may not always be a maladaptive response and that low or blunted reactivity may also have negative corollaries