Abstract
Objective: Psychological traits such as optimism and hostility affect coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but mechanisms for this association are unclear. We hypothesized that optimism and hostility may affect CHD risk via changes in heart rate variability (HRV). Methods: We conducted a longitudinal analysis using data from the Women's Health Initiative Myocardial Ischemia and Migraine Study. Participants underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring 3 years after enrollment. Optimism (Life Orientation Test-Revised), cynical hostility (Cook-Medley), demographics, and coronary risk factors were assessed at baseline. HRV measures included standard deviation of average N-N intervals (SDNN); standard deviation of average N-N intervals for 5 minutes (SDANN); and average heart rate (HR). CHD was defined as the first occurrence of myocardial infarction, angina, coronary angioplasty, and bypass grafting. Linear and Cox regression models adjusted for CHD risk factors were used to examine, respectively, associations between optimism, hostility, and HRV and between HRV and CHD risk. Results: Final analyses included 2655 women. Although optimism was not associated with HRV, hostility was inversely associated with HRV 3 years later (SDANN: adjusted β = -0.54; 95% CI = -0.97 to -0.11; SDNN: -0.49; 95% CI = -0.93 to -0.05). HRV was inversely associated with CHD risk; for each 10-millisecond increase in SDNN or SDANN, there was a decrease in CHD risk of 9% (p =.023) and 12% (p =.006), respectively. Conclusions: HRV did not play a major role in explaining why more optimistic women seem to be somewhat protected from CHD risk. Although hostility was inversely associated with HRV, its role in explaining the association between hostility and CHD risk remains to be established.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 256-264 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Psychosomatic Medicine |
| Volume | 81 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- coronary heart disease
- heart rate variability
- hostility
- optimism
- women's health
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
Cite this
Psychological Traits, Heart Rate Variability, and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Healthy Aging Women - The Women's Health Initiative. / Salmoirago-Blotcher, Elena; Hovey, Kathleen M.; Andrews, Cristopher A.; Allison, Matthew; Brunner, Robert L.; Denburg, Nathalie L.; Eaton, Charles; Garcia, Lorena; Sealy-Jefferson, Shawnita M.; Zaslavsky, Oleg; Kang, Joseph; López, Lenny; Post, Stephen G.; Tindle, Hilary; Wassertheil-Smoller, Sylvia.
In: Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 81, No. 3, 01.04.2019, p. 256-264.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological Traits, Heart Rate Variability, and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Healthy Aging Women - The Women's Health Initiative
AU - Salmoirago-Blotcher, Elena
AU - Hovey, Kathleen M.
AU - Andrews, Cristopher A.
AU - Allison, Matthew
AU - Brunner, Robert L.
AU - Denburg, Nathalie L.
AU - Eaton, Charles
AU - Garcia, Lorena
AU - Sealy-Jefferson, Shawnita M.
AU - Zaslavsky, Oleg
AU - Kang, Joseph
AU - López, Lenny
AU - Post, Stephen G.
AU - Tindle, Hilary
AU - Wassertheil-Smoller, Sylvia
PY - 2019/4/1
Y1 - 2019/4/1
N2 - Objective: Psychological traits such as optimism and hostility affect coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but mechanisms for this association are unclear. We hypothesized that optimism and hostility may affect CHD risk via changes in heart rate variability (HRV). Methods: We conducted a longitudinal analysis using data from the Women's Health Initiative Myocardial Ischemia and Migraine Study. Participants underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring 3 years after enrollment. Optimism (Life Orientation Test-Revised), cynical hostility (Cook-Medley), demographics, and coronary risk factors were assessed at baseline. HRV measures included standard deviation of average N-N intervals (SDNN); standard deviation of average N-N intervals for 5 minutes (SDANN); and average heart rate (HR). CHD was defined as the first occurrence of myocardial infarction, angina, coronary angioplasty, and bypass grafting. Linear and Cox regression models adjusted for CHD risk factors were used to examine, respectively, associations between optimism, hostility, and HRV and between HRV and CHD risk. Results: Final analyses included 2655 women. Although optimism was not associated with HRV, hostility was inversely associated with HRV 3 years later (SDANN: adjusted β = -0.54; 95% CI = -0.97 to -0.11; SDNN: -0.49; 95% CI = -0.93 to -0.05). HRV was inversely associated with CHD risk; for each 10-millisecond increase in SDNN or SDANN, there was a decrease in CHD risk of 9% (p =.023) and 12% (p =.006), respectively. Conclusions: HRV did not play a major role in explaining why more optimistic women seem to be somewhat protected from CHD risk. Although hostility was inversely associated with HRV, its role in explaining the association between hostility and CHD risk remains to be established.
AB - Objective: Psychological traits such as optimism and hostility affect coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but mechanisms for this association are unclear. We hypothesized that optimism and hostility may affect CHD risk via changes in heart rate variability (HRV). Methods: We conducted a longitudinal analysis using data from the Women's Health Initiative Myocardial Ischemia and Migraine Study. Participants underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring 3 years after enrollment. Optimism (Life Orientation Test-Revised), cynical hostility (Cook-Medley), demographics, and coronary risk factors were assessed at baseline. HRV measures included standard deviation of average N-N intervals (SDNN); standard deviation of average N-N intervals for 5 minutes (SDANN); and average heart rate (HR). CHD was defined as the first occurrence of myocardial infarction, angina, coronary angioplasty, and bypass grafting. Linear and Cox regression models adjusted for CHD risk factors were used to examine, respectively, associations between optimism, hostility, and HRV and between HRV and CHD risk. Results: Final analyses included 2655 women. Although optimism was not associated with HRV, hostility was inversely associated with HRV 3 years later (SDANN: adjusted β = -0.54; 95% CI = -0.97 to -0.11; SDNN: -0.49; 95% CI = -0.93 to -0.05). HRV was inversely associated with CHD risk; for each 10-millisecond increase in SDNN or SDANN, there was a decrease in CHD risk of 9% (p =.023) and 12% (p =.006), respectively. Conclusions: HRV did not play a major role in explaining why more optimistic women seem to be somewhat protected from CHD risk. Although hostility was inversely associated with HRV, its role in explaining the association between hostility and CHD risk remains to be established.
KW - coronary heart disease
KW - heart rate variability
KW - hostility
KW - optimism
KW - women's health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064012415&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85064012415&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000672
DO - 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000672
M3 - Article
C2 - 30688770
AN - SCOPUS:85064012415
VL - 81
SP - 256
EP - 264
JO - Psychosomatic Medicine
JF - Psychosomatic Medicine
SN - 0033-3174
IS - 3
ER -