Subjective well-being and cardiometabolic health: An 8–11year study of midlife adults

Abstract

Objective Individuals who are satisfied and experience frequent positive emotions tend to have reduced risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, conflicting evidence exists and little research has investigated whether well-being is associated with early-warning indicators of biological risk that precede CHD. We investigated whether life satisfaction and positive emotions longitudinally predicted reduced risk of incident cardiometabolic conditions and healthier cardiometabolic risk scores, which may provide insight into underlying mechanisms and novel prevention targets. Methods Initially healthy men and women (N=754–854) reported their baseline life satisfaction and positive emotions. During follow-up, presence of manifest cardiometabolic conditions was assessed and a separate cardiometabolic risk score was constructed from eight biomarkers. Poisson and linear regression analyses tested whether life satisfaction and positive emotions were associated with reduced incident disease risk and lower cardiometabolic risk scores 8–11 years later. Results Life satisfaction and positive emotions were each prospectively associated with reduced risk of manifest conditions, controlling for demographics and family history of CHD. Associations were attenuated for positive emotions after adjusting for depressive symptoms and for life satisfaction after adjusting for health behaviors. Life satisfaction was associated with lower cardiometabolic risk scores until adding health behaviors, but positive emotions were not (regardless of the included covariates). Conclusion Well-being, particularly life satisfaction, is associated with reduced risk for incident cardiometabolic conditions in minimally-adjusted models. However, accounting for underlying behavioral pathways attenuates the association. Low levels of life satisfaction (but not positive emotions) may also provide early warning of cardiometabolic risk prior to disease development.

Psychological resources and glucoregulation in Japanese adults: Findings from MIDJA.

“…Although the primary focus of this inquiry was on well-being predictors of glucoregulation in Japanese adults, associations between well-being and three other markers of cardiovascular risk were examined to facilitate comparisons with previously published research from MIDUS (Boehm et al, 2016; Boylan & Ryff, 2015; Zilioli et al, 2015). The additional outcomes included systolic blood pressure, total to HDL cholesterol ratio, and waist circumference.…”

“…These were done to facilitate comparisons with previously published findings of well-being and metabolic syndrome and other measures of cardiometabolic risk and allostatic load in the United States (Boehm et al, 2016; Boylan & Ryff, 2015; Zilioli et al, 2015). Lack of comparability in multiple areas of assessment (i.e., lack of fasting glucose, less comprehensive measurement of physical activity, and additional well-being measures of interest) precluded conducting exactly the same set of analyses in Japan.…”

The Protective Role of Positive Well-Being in Cardiovascular Disease: Review of Current Evidence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Implications

“…A cross-sectional analysis of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis demonstrated a graded association between optimism and cardiovascular health scores, whereby participants in the highest quartile of optimism had 92% greater odds of ideal cardiovascular health compared to the least optimistic participants [35]. Longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States Study revealed that life satisfaction and positive affect each predicted reduced risk for incident cardiometabolic conditions across 8–11 years, but only life satisfaction was prospectively associated with lower cardiometabolic risk scores [36]. Although studies have linked positive well-being to lower levels of individual CVD risk factors (e.g., hypertension, lipid profiles) [37,38], whether positive well-being promotes overall cardiovascular health over time is less clear.…”

Suboptimal baseline mental health associated with 4-month premature all-cause mortality: Findings from 18 years of follow-up of the Canadian National Population Health Survey

“…Previous research has provided convergent evidence of the favourable association between flourishing mental health and physical health [6]. Indicators of flourishing mental health have shown advantageous effects on a range of health outcomes, including diabetes [7], cardiovascular disease [8], cancer [9], stroke [10], chronic lung disease [11], inflammatory conditions [12], and risk factors for coronary heart disease, such as high blood pressure [13].…”