Effects of glucose ingestion on autonomic and cardiovascular measures during rest and mental challenge

Background High levels of dietary sugar consumption may result in dysregulated glucose metabolism and lead to elevated cardiovascular disease risk via autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular dysfunction. Altered cardiovascular function can be examined using perturbation tasks such as mental challenge. This study examined the effects of controlled glucose intake on cardiovascular measures at rest and in responses to mental challenge in a laboratory setting. Method Using a double blind within-subjects design, participants were monitored at baseline, following ingestion of a glucose or taste-control solution, during structured speech (SS), anger recall (AR) and recovery (N = 24, 288 repeated measures; age = 21 ± 2 years). Pre-ejection period (PEP), heart rate (HR), stroke index (SI), cardiac index (CI), blood pressure and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were measured throughout the protocol. Results Glucose resulted in sustained decreased PEP levels compared to control condition (Δ = 11.98 ± 9.52 vs. 3.27 ± 7.65 m·s, P < .001) and transient increases in resting HR (P = .011), CI (P = .040) and systolic blood pressure (P = .009). Glucose did not result in increased cardiovascular reactivity to mental challenge tasks, but was associated with a delayed HR recovery following AR (P = .032). Conclusion Glucose intake resulted in a drop in PEP indicating increased sympathetic nervous system activity. No evidence was found for glucose-related exaggerated cardiovascular responses to mental challenge. Dysregulated glucose metabolism may result in elevated cardiovascular disease risk as a result of repeated glucose-induced elevations of sympathetic nervous system activity. Keywords: Glucose, Carbohydrate, Mental challenge, Cardiovascular reactivity, Cardiovascular recovery, Psychological distres

Handbook of cardiovascular behavioral medicine

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide. It is well recognized that traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease have limited predictive utility in the identification of new cardiovascular disease cases and outcomes. Thus, investigators have argued that application of a biopsychosocial research paradigm in this field may be of particular utility in understanding cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. Accordingly, a subdiscipline within the field of behavioral medicine – cardiovascular behavioral medicine – examines interrelations among biological, behavioral, psychological, social, and environmental factors in cardiovascular health and disease

Classification of cardiovascular diseases: Epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment

This chapter reviews the main cardiovascular diseases (CVD) that are common in clinical practice and have received substantial attention from researchers in behavioral medicine and related disciplines. A concise overview is provided for hypertension, ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathies, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and stroke. For each CVD, we present information about disease characteristics, epidemiology, diagnostic tools, disease mechanisms, and treatment options. This chapter concludes with a general discussion of how these CVD features are relevant to research in cardiovascular behavioral medicine

Supplementary Material for: Renal Function and Long-Term Decline in Cognitive Function: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Renal disease has been associated with greater risk of dementia and greater cognitive impairment. However, the relationship of lower renal function with long-term decline in specific domains of cognitive function remains unclear among community-dwelling, non-demented individuals. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Stroke- and dementia-free participants (n = 2,116) were enrolled in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, a community-based, prospective, longitudinal study. Renal function was estimated by the inverse of serum creatinine adjusted for age, sex and race and (in sensitivity analyses) estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the MDRD formula. Outcome measures were changes in scores on 6 cognitive tests encompassing a range of cognitive functions, measured at 2-year intervals. Mixed-effects regression models examined the longitudinal relations of renal function with cognitive functions after adjusting for demographics, comorbidity and other potential confounders. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Mean age at initial testing was 53.9 years (SD 17.1), and 94 participants (4.4%) had an eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m² and 18.5% had at least one comorbidity. With increasing age, longitudinal increases in creatinine concentrations were associated with more rapid decline in performance on several cognitive measures, including the learning slope of the California Verbal Learning Test, a test of verbal learning (p < 0.01), and the Benton Visual Retention Test, a test of visual memory (p < 0.01). Associations were similar for changes in eGFR_MDRD, which was also associated with the rate of decline in verbal memory. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In a community-based adult population, declines in renal function independently associated with greater long-term declines in visual memory and verbal memory and learning