Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationRecent theory and research on psychophysiological aspects of self-regulation emphasizes the central role of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of parasympathetic nervous system functioning. Within the context of close relationships, resting RSA may index an individual's self-regulatory capacity to manage affect associated with interpersonal interactions. In the laboratory, RSA was measured during a 10-minute resting baseline and participants completed measures of relationship quality. Partners were emailed a link to complete an online measure of relationship quality. Following the laboratory sessions, participants were prompted (using experience sampling methodology) to provide ratings of their affect during interactions with a romantic partner throughout a day. Resting RSA was correlated with partner reports of conflict in the relationship but not participant ratings of relationship quality. Multilevel models revealed a positive association between resting RSA and reports of calm and relaxed affect during social interactions with a romantic partner. Resting RSA was negatively associated with upset and angry affect during interactions with a romantic partner. These findings suggest that resting RSA may influence affect regulation during social interactions with a romantic partner and may have implications for understanding processes key to self-regulation and health

MS

thesisSleep quality requires adequate inhibition of mental, behavioral, and physiological processes that perturb the sleep-wake system-a process captured by the construct presleep arousal. The extent to which individual differences in tonic high-frequency heart rate variability (or respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and neuroticism predicted stress-related presleep arousal was examined. Eighty four healthy young adults completed measures of presleep arousal prior to and following a laboratory stressor. Neuroticism predicted stress-related changes in cognitive presleep arousal. Tonic RSA moderated the effect of neuroticism on somatic presleep arousal: Neuroticism was associated with poststress increase in somatic presleep arousal only when accompanied by low tonic RSA. These findings demonstrate that identifying individual differences in vulnerability to prolonged stress responses culminating in higher presleep arousal may be pertinent to understanding the development of chronic sleep problems

Cellular aging and restorative processes: Subjective sleep quality and duration moderate the association between age and telomere length in a sample of middle-aged and older adults

pre-printStudy Objectives: To examine whether subjective sleep quality and sleep duration moderate the association between age and telomere length (TL). Design: Participants completed a demographic and sleep quality questionnaire, followed by a blood draw. Setting: Social Neuroscience Laboratory. Participants: One hundred fifty-four middle-aged to older adults (age 45-77 y) participated. Participants were excluded if they were on immunosuppressive treatment and/or had a disease with a clear immunologic (e.g., cancer) component. Interventions: N/A. Measurements and Results: Subjective sleep quality and sleep duration were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and TL was determined using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). There was a significant first-order negative association between age and TL. Age was also negatively associated with the self-reported sleep quality item and sleep duration component of the PSQI. A significant age × self-reported sleep quality interaction revealed that age was more strongly related to TL among poor sleepers, and that good sleep quality attenuated the association between age and TL. Moreover, adequate subjective sleep duration among older adults (i.e. greater than 7 h per night) was associated with TL comparable to that in middle-aged adults, whereas sleep duration was unrelated to TL for the middle-aged adults in our study. Conclusions: The current study provides evidence for an association between sleep quality, sleep duration, and cellular aging. Among older adults, better subjective sleep quality was associated with the extent of cellular aging, suggesting that sleep duration and sleep quality may be added to a growing list of modifiable behaviors associated with the adverse effects of aging

Participant‐Reported Health Status Predicts Cardiovascular and All‐Cause Mortality Independent of Established and Nontraditional Biomarkers: Evidence From a Representative US Sample

Background: Participant‐reported health status is a key indicator of cardiovascular health, but its predictive value relative to traditional and nontraditional risk factors is unknown. We evaluated whether participant‐reported health status, as indexed by self‐rated health, predicted cardiovascular disease, and all‐cause mortality risk excess of 10‐year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores and 5 nontraditional risk biomarkers. Methods and Results: Analyses used prospective observational data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys among those aged 40 to 79 years (N=4677). Vital status was ascertained through 2011, during which there were 850 deaths, 206 from cardiovascular disease (CVD). We regressed CVD and all‐cause mortality on standardized values of self‐rated health in survival models, adjusting for age, sex, education, existing chronic disease, race/ethnicity, ASCVD risk, and standardized biomarkers (fibrinogen, C‐reactive protein [CRP], triglycerides, albumin, and uric acid). In sociodemographically adjusted models, a 1‐SD decrease in self‐rated health was associated with increased risk of CVD mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.92; 95% CI, 1.51–2.45; P<0.001), and this hazard remained strong after adjusting for ASCVD risk and nontraditional biomarkers (HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.42–2.26; P<0.001). Self‐rated health also predicted all‐cause mortality even after adjustment for ASCVD risk and nontraditional biomarkers (HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.35–1.66; P<0.001). Conclusions: Self‐rated health provides prognostic information beyond that captured by traditional ASCVD risk assessments and by nontraditional CVD biomarkers. Consideration of self‐rated health in combination with traditional risk factors may facilitate risk assessment and clinical care

Risky Early Family Environment and Genetic Associations with Adult Metabolic Dysregulation

Growing up in a family environment characterized by neglectful parenting, overt conflict, and unsupportive relationships is associated with poor health in adulthood. A risky early family environment may also be associated with obesity in adulthood, likely through the activation of the HPA axis. Likewise, the GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acid) T&gt;C single nucleotide polymorphism in the 1519 nucleotide position of the GABAA&alpha;6 receptor subunit gene has been associated with a predisposition to a higher body mass index and a larger waist circumference. Participants (n = 213, Mage = 30.13 years, SD = 10.85; 57.7% men) from the Pittsburgh Cold Study 3 completed a demographic questionnaire, the Risky Families Questionnaire (RFQ) and had their height, weight, and waist circumference measured during a physical exam. Participant DNA was recovered from buccal swabs and genotyped for the various allelic types of the SNP according to published protocols. In secondary data analyses, we tested the hypothesis that early family environment and GABRA6 would be positively associated with body mass index and waist circumference. We also examined diurnal cortisol as a mechanism linking both early risky family environment and GABRA6 to metabolic outcomes. The findings provide evidence that a risky early family environment may exert more influence than genetic predisposition when determining the indices of metabolic health in adulthood