While You Are Sleeping: Marital Ambivalence and Blunted Nocturnal Blood Pressure.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 21(6)2024 Jun 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38928969
ABSTRACT
Marital relationships offer health benefits, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, quality of the relationship matters; ambivalent behaviors may increase CVD risk by affecting blunted nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping. This study tracked daytime and nocturnal SBP and DBP in 180 normotensive individuals (90 couples; participant mean age 25.04; 91.58% white) over a 24 h period using ambulatory blood pressure monitors to explore the impact of martial quality. Results showed that perceptions of spousal ambivalence were associated with blunted nocturnal BP dipping. Perceptions of one's own behavior as ambivalent also showed blunted nocturnal dipping. When in an ambivalent relationship, a gender interaction was found such that women were most likely to have blunted SBP dipping, but men were more likely to have blunted nocturnal DBP dipping. Overall, this study found an association between ambivalence and BP dipping, thus uncovering one virtually unexplored pathway by which marital relationships may have adverse effects on health.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Blood Pressure
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Marriage
Limits:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
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Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Environ Res Public Health
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: