Independent Associations Between Trait-Anger, Depressive Symptoms and Preclinical Atherosclerotic Progression.

BACKGROUND: Previous research from our group found that recent depressive symptoms were associated with 3-year change in carotid intima-media thickness (CA-IMT), a biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk, in an initially healthy sample of older adults. Trait measures of anxiety, anger, and hostility did not predict 3-year CA-IMT progression in that report. PURPOSE: The current study sought to reexamine these associations at a 6-year follow-up point. METHODS: Two-hundred seventy-eight participants (151 males, mean age = 60.68 years) from the original sample completed an additional IMT reading 6 years following the initial baseline assessment. RESULTS: Though not significant at 3-years, trait-anger emerged as a predictor of IMT progression at the 6-year point. When examined in separate regression models, both depression and trait-anger (but not anxiety or hostility) predicted 6-year IMT change (b = .017, p = .002; b = .029, p = .01, respectively). When examined concurrently, both depression and anger were independently associated with 6-year IMT progression (b = .016, p = .010, b = .028, p = .022, respectively). Exploratory analyses suggest that the relative contributions of anger and depression may differ for males and females. CONCLUSIONS: The use of sequential follow-ups is relatively unique in this literature, and our results suggest a need for further research on the timing and duration of psychosocial risk exposures in early stages of cardiovascular disease.

Systemic Inflammation Contributes to the Association Between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Midlife Cardiometabolic Risk.

BACKGROUND: Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with increased risk for chronic inflammation and cardiometabolic disease at midlife. PURPOSE: As it is presently unknown whether inflammation mediates the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and adulthood cardiometabolic risk, we investigated associations between retrospectively reported childhood SES, circulating levels of inflammatory markers, and a latent construct of cardiometabolic risk in midlife adults. METHODS: Participants were 1,359 healthy adults aged 30-54 (Adult Health and Behavior Iⅈ 52% women, 17% Black) who retrospectively reported childhood SES (parental education, occupational grade). Measures included plasma interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and cardiometabolic risk factors. Structural equation modeling was conducted, with cardiometabolic risk modeled as a second-order latent variable with adiposity, blood lipids, glucose control, and blood pressure as first-order components. RESULTS: Lower childhood SES was associated with greater risk for cardiometabolic disease at midlife (ß = -0.08, CI[-0.04, -0.01], p = .01) in models adjusted for demographics, but this association was attenuated in models that adjusted for adulthood SES and health behaviors. In fully-adjusted models, the relationship between lower childhood SES and adult cardiometabolic risk was partially explained by higher circulating levels of CRP (ß = -0.05, CI[-0.02, -0.01], p = .001), but not by IL-6. In an exploratory model, lower adulthood SES was also found to independently contribute to the association between childhood SES and adult cardiometabolic risk (ß = -0.02, CI[-0.01, -0.001], p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides initial evidence that systemic inflammation may contribute to childhood socioeconomic disparities in cardiometabolic risk in midlife. Future work would benefit from prospective investigation of these relationships.

The personality meta-trait of stability and carotid artery atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Several personality traits increase the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Because many of these traits are correlated, their associations with disease risk could reflect shared variance, rather than unique contributions of each trait. We examined a higher-order personality trait of Stability as related to preclinical atherosclerosis and tested whether any such relationship might be explained by correlated variation in cardiometabolic risk factors. METHOD: Among 798 community volunteers, lower-order traits of Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were modeled as latent variables (from self- and informant ratings) and used to estimate the second-order factor, Stability. Cardiometabolic risk was similarly modeled from indicators of glycemic control, blood pressure, adiposity, and lipids. Carotid artery atherosclerosis was measured as intima-media thickness (IMT) by duplex ultrasonography. RESULT: A structural equation model incorporating direct and indirect effects showed lower Stability associated with greater IMT, and this relationship was accounted for by the indirect pathway via cardiometabolic risk. Secondary analyses showed that: (1) Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were unrelated to IMT independent of Stability; and (2) Stability predicted variation in IMT when estimated from informant-, but not self-rated, traits. CONCLUSION: Personality traits may associate with atherosclerotic burden through their shared, rather than unique, variance, as reflected in Stability.

Conscientiousness and Cardiometabolic Risk: A Test of the Health Behavior Model of Personality Using Structural Equation Modeling.

BACKGROUND: High trait conscientiousness is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk, and health behaviors are a putative but relatively untested pathway that may explain this association. PURPOSE: To explore the role of key health behaviors (diet, physical activity, substance use, and sleep) as links between conscientiousness and cardiometabolic risk. METHODS: In a cross-sectional analysis of 494 healthy, middle-aged working adults (mean age = 42.7 years, 52.6% women, 81.0% White), participants provided self-reports of conscientiousness, physical activity, substance use, diet, and sleep, and wore monitors over a 7-day monitoring period to assess sleep (Actiwatch-16) and physical activity (SenseWear Pro3). Cardiometabolic risk was expressed as a second-order latent variable from a confirmatory factor analysis involving insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, obesity, and blood pressure. Direct, indirect, and specific indirect effect pathways linking conscientiousness to health behaviors and cardiometabolic risk were examined. Unstandardized indirect effects for each health behavior class were computed separately using bootstrapped samples. RESULTS: After controlling for demographics (sex, age, race, and education), conscientiousness showed the predicted, inverse association with cardiometabolic risk. Among the examined health behaviors, objectively-assessed sleep midpoint variability (b = -0.003, p = .04), subjective sleep quality (b = -0.003, p = .025), and objectively-assessed physical activity (b = -0.11, p = .04) linked conscientiousness to cardiometabolic risk. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity and sleep partially accounted for the relationship between conscientiousness and cardiometabolic risk.

Frontostriatal Brain Activation Is Associated With the Longitudinal Progression of Cardiometabolic Risk.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiometabolic risk refers to a set of interconnected factors of vascular and metabolic origin associated with both cardiovascular disease and various brain disorders. Although midlife cardiometabolic risk is associated with future brain dysfunction, emerging evidence suggests that alterations in autonomic and central nervous system function may precede increases in cardiometabolic risk. METHODS: The present study tested whether patterns of cerebral blood flow in brain areas associated with autonomic regulation were associated with increases in overall cardiometabolic risk. A community sample of 109 adults with resting systolic blood pressure between 120 and 139 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 mm Hg, or both underwent pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling to quantify cerebral blood flow responses to cognitively challenging tasks. Cardiometabolic risk and cerebral blood flow measurements were collected at baseline and at a 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: Regression analyses showed that greater frontostriatal cerebral blood flow responses to cognitive challenge were associated with higher cardiometabolic risk at follow-up (ß = 0.26 [95% confidence interval = 0.07 to 0.44], t = 2.81, p = .006, ΔR = 0.04). These findings were specific to frontostriatal brain regions, as frontoparietal, insular-subcortical, and total cerebral blood flow were not associated with progression of cardiometabolic risk. Moreover, cardiometabolic risk was not associated with frontostriatal cerebral blood flow responses 2 years later. CONCLUSIONS: Frontostriatal brain function may precede and possibly forecast the progression of cardiometabolic risk.

The effects of omega-3 fatty acids on neuropsychological functioning and brain morphology in mid-life adults: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The diet of most adults is low in fish and, therefore, provides limited quantities of the long-chain, omega-3 fatty acids (LCn-3FAs), eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA, DHA). Since these compounds serve important roles in the brain, we sought to determine if healthy adults with low-LCn-3FA consumption would exhibit improvements in neuropsychological performance and parallel changes in brain morphology following repletion through fish oil supplementation. METHODS: In a randomized, controlled trial, 271 mid-life adults (30-54 years of age, 118 men, 153 women) consuming ⩽300 mg/day of LCn-3FAs received 18 weeks of supplementation with fish oil capsules (1400 mg/day of EPA and DHA) or matching placebo. All participants completed a neuropsychological test battery examining four cognitive domains: psychomotor speed, executive function, learning/episodic memory, and fluid intelligence. A subset of 122 underwent neuroimaging before and after supplementation to measure whole-brain and subcortical tissue volumes. RESULTS: Capsule adherence was over 95%, participant blinding was verified, and red blood cell EPA and DHA levels increased as expected. Supplementation did not affect performance in any of the four cognitive domains. Exploratory analyses revealed that, compared to placebo, fish oil supplementation improved executive function in participants with low-baseline DHA levels. No changes were observed in any indicator of brain morphology. CONCLUSIONS: In healthy mid-life adults reporting low-dietary intake, supplementation with LCn-3FAs in moderate dose for moderate duration did not affect neuropsychological performance or brain morphology. Whether salutary effects occur in individuals with particularly low-DHA exposure requires further study.

Hostility Dimensions and Metabolic Syndrome in a Healthy, Midlife Sample.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence links trait hostility with components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), a clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors, but which hostility dimensions (e.g., expressive or cognitive hostility) relate to MetS are not well known. Further, there may be age and sex differences in the extent to which hostility dimensions relate to MetS. The present study evaluated associations between dimensions of hostility and the metabolic syndrome and its individual components as well as the moderating effects of sex and age. METHODS: In a cross-sectional sample of 478 employed adults, a principal component analysis from common trait hostility questionnaires yielded a two-factor solution: expressive hostility (anger and aggression) and cognitive hostility (cynicism). Each of these two components of hostility was examined as predictors of each of two aggregated MetS outcomes: a dichotomous measure of MetS, based upon the NCEP-ATP III definition, and a continuous measure based upon the average of standardized scores for each component; and they were examined as predictors of individual MetS components as well. RESULTS: Expressive hostility was associated with MetS severity (b = 0.110, p = 0.04) and waist circumference (b = 2.75, p = 0.01). Moderation analyses revealed that elevated expressive hostility was associated with elevated waist circumference in women but not men. Cognitive hostility was not related to any metabolic syndrome component or aggregated outcome, and no moderation was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Among multiple individual components and two aggregated scores, only trait dispositions to expressed hostile affect and behavior were associated with MetS severity and waist circumference. The effects were small but statistically significant. The association between cognitive hostility and metabolic syndrome measures may not be robust in a large sample of healthy, midlife adults.

Blended Collaborative Care to Treat Heart Failure and Comorbid Depression: Rationale and Study Design of the Hopeful Heart Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Despite numerous improvements in care, morbidity from heart failure (HF) has remained essentially unchanged in recent years. One potential reason is that depression, which is comorbid in approximately 40% of hospitalized HF patients and associated with adverse HF outcomes, often goes unrecognized and untreated. The Hopeful Heart Trial is the first study to evaluate whether a widely generalizable telephone-delivered collaborative care program for treating depression in HF patients improves clinical outcomes. METHODS: The Hopeful Heart Trial aimed to enroll 750 patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (ejection fraction ≤ 45%) including the following: (A) 625 patients who screened positive for depression both during their hospitalization (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-2]) and two weeks following discharge (PHQ-9 ≥ 10); and (B) 125 non-depressed control patients (PHQ-2(-)/PHQ-9 < 5). We randomized depressed patients to either their primary care physician's "usual care" (UC) or to one of two nurse-delivered 12-month collaborative care programs for (a) depression and HFrEF ("blended") or (b) HrEFF alone (enhanced UC). Our co-primary hypotheses will test whether "blended" care can improve mental health-related quality of life versus UC and versus enhanced UC, respectively, on the Mental Component Summary of the Short-Form 12 Health Survey. Secondary hypotheses will evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions on mood, functional status, hospital readmissions, deaths, provision of evidence-based care for HFrEF, and treatment costs. RESULTS: Not applicable. CONCLUSIONS: The Hopeful Heart Trial will determine whether "blended" collaborative care for depression and HFrEF is more effective at improving patient-relevant outcomes than collaborative care for HFrEF alone or doctors' UC for HFrEF. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02044211.

Neurobiological Functioning and the Personality-Trait Hierarchy: Central Serotonergic Responsivity and the Stability Metatrait.

Trait domains of the five-factor model are not orthogonal, and two metatraits have often been estimated from their covariation. Here, we focus on the stability metatrait, which reflects shared variance in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and (inversely) neuroticism. It has been hypothesized that stability manifests, in part, because of individual differences in central serotonergic functioning. We explored this possibility in a community sample (N = 441) using a multiverse analysis of (a) multi-informant five-factor-model traits and (b) stability as a predictor of individual differences in central serotonergic functioning. Differences in serotonergic functioning were assessed by indexing change in serum prolactin concentration following intravenous infusion of citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Results were mixed, showing that trait neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, as well as the stability metatrait, were significantly associated with prolactin response but that these findings were contingent on a number of modeling decisions. Specifically, these effects were nonlinear, emerging most strongly for participants with the highest levels (or lowest, for neuroticism) of the component traits.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Reactivity as a Moderator in the Association Between Daily Life Psychosocial Stress and Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether associations between daily psychosocial stressor exposures and carotid artery intima-medial thickness (IMT) may be stronger among those showing larger stress-related cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) during the course of daily living. METHODS: A total of 474 healthy working adults (ages 30-54 years) collected ambulatory blood pressure and recorded their daily experiences, using electronic diaries, during two 2-day periods for a week. Measures of mean momentary task strain and social conflict were used as indices of stressor exposure, and partial regression coefficients linking momentary strain and conflict with ambulatory blood pressure fluctuations were used as measures of CVR. IMT was assessed in the carotid arteries using B-mode ultrasound. RESULTS: After covariate adjustment, associations between mean task strain exposure and IMT were significant among those high in CVR to strain (for systolic blood pressure, p = .006, for diastolic blood pressure, p = .011) but not among those low in strain CVR. Similarly, associations involving mean conflict exposure were significant among those high in CVR to social conflict (p < .001 for systolic blood pressure, p = .001 for diastolic blood pressure) but not among low social conflict reactors. Significant moderation effects were more consistently shown for task strain than for social conflict, but the overall pattern of results was robust across two different types of statistical modeling procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Individual differences in CVR may moderate the effects of daily psychosocial stress on subclinical CVD among healthy employed adults. Using ecological momentary assessment to measure stress exposure as well as stress reactivity may facilitate our ability to detect these effects.

Associations of immunometabolic risk factors with symptoms of depression and anxiety: The role of cardiac vagal activity.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined 1) the cross-sectional relationships between symptoms of depression/anxiety and immunometabolic risk factors, and 2) whether these relationships might be explained in part by cardiac vagal activity. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Adult Health and Behavior registries (n = 1785), comprised of community dwelling adults (52.8% women, aged 30-54). Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and anxious symptoms with the Trait Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). Immunometabolic risk factors included fasting levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, glucose, and insulin, as well as blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6. Measures of cardiac autonomic activity were high- and low-frequency indicators of heart rate variability (HRV), standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals, and the mean of absolute and successive differences in R-R intervals. RESULTS: Higher BDI-II scores, in contrast to CES-D and STAI-T scores, were associated with increased immunometabolic risk and decreased HRV, especially HRV likely reflecting cardiac vagal activity. Decreased HRV was also associated with increased immunometabolic risk. Structural equation models indicated that BDI-II scores may relate to immunometabolic risk via cardiac vagal activity (indirect effect: ß = .012, p = .046) or to vagal activity via immunometabolic risk (indirect effect: ß = -.015, p = .021). CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms, as measured by the BDI-II, but not anxious symptoms, were related to elevated levels of immunometabolic risk factors and low cardiac vagal activity. The latter may exhibit bidirectional influences on one another in a meditational framework. Future longitudinal, intervention, an nonhuman animal work is needed to elucidate the precise and mechanistic pathways linking depressive symptoms to immune, metabolic, and autonomic parameters of physiology that predispose to cardiovascular disease risk.

Omega-3 Supplementation and the Neural Correlates of Negative Affect and Impulsivity: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Midlife Adults.

OBJECTIVE: In clinical trials, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves symptoms in psychiatric disorders involving dysregulated mood and impulse control, yet it is unclear whether in healthy adults, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation affects mood, impulse control, and the brain systems supporting these processes. Accordingly, this study tested the hypotheses that eciosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid supplementation reduces negative affect and impulsive behaviors in healthy adults and that these changes correspond to alterations in corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain systems, which support affective and impulsive processes. METHODS: Healthy volunteers (N = 272) consuming 300 mg/d or less of EPA and DHA were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial. The participants received either capsules providing 1000 mg of EPA and 400 mg of DHA versus identical appearing soybean oil capsules per day for 18 weeks. Negative affect and impulsivity were measured by questionnaire and ecological momentary assessment, as well as functional alterations in corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain systems evoked by standardized functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks. RESULTS: There were no group by time interactions for any questionnaire or ecological momentary assessment measures of mood and impulsivity. Likewise, no group by time interactions were observed for functional magnetic resonance imaging responses evoked within corticolimbic and corticostriatal systems. CONCLUSIONS: In healthy adults with low intake of omega-3 fatty acids, moderate-dose supplementation for 18 weeks did not alter affect or impulsive behaviors nor alter corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain functionality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial number NCT00663871.

Early Life Family Conflict, Social Interactions, and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: Conflict in early life family environments is known to affect psychosocial functioning and coping styles into adulthood and is reported to negatively affect access to psychosocial resources that are critical to the management of stress. However, it remains unknown whether early life family conflict similarly affects subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. We predicted that family conflict in early life would be associated with greater mean intima-media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of CVD risk, in adulthood. METHODS: Data were collected in a community sample of 503 adults (47.4 % male, mean [standard deviation] age = 42.8 [7.3] years). Associations between family conflict in early life with IMT (assessed using B-mode ultrasound) in adulthood were examined using regression analysis. We also tested for indirect effects of early life family conflict on mean IMT through ecological momentary assessment reports of social interactions, diversity of social roles, and perceived social support. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics and physiological risk factors showed conflict in early life associated with greater mean IMT (ß = 0.08, t(447) = 2.13, p = .034, R = 0.46). Early life conflict was significantly related to diversity of social roles, perceived social support, and ecological momentary assessment reports of pleasant and social conflict interactions. Significant indirect effects of early life conflict on mean IMT were observed through fewer pleasant social interactions and more frequent social conflict interactions in adulthood (ß = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0001-0.0014] and ß = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0002-0.0015], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide initial evidence that family conflict in early life heightens CVD risk in adulthood, in part by shaping the quality of adulthood social interactions.

Childhood Socioeconomic Status and the Occurrence of Recent Negative Life Events as Predictors of Circulating and Stimulated Levels of Interleukin-6.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence supports an inverse association of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) with systemic inflammation in adulthood. However, it remains to be determined whether this association is dependent on exposure to stressful life experiences. METHODS: We predicted that the combination of a high number of recent negative life events and low childhood SES would be associated with the highest levels of both circulating interleukin (IL)-6 and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated production of IL-6. We tested this prediction among a community sample of 459 adults (47% male, mean [standard deviation] age = 42.8 [7.3] years). RESULTS: Inverse associations were found between childhood and adult SES indices with circulating IL-6 levels (r values between -0.07 and -0.16, p < .05) but not stimulated IL-6 levels (r values between -0.007 and 0.07, p > .05). The number of recent negative life events (mean [standard deviation] = 2.43 [2.34]) was not significantly related to subjective childhood SES and other SES indices (r values < 0.06, p > .10). Multivariate linear regression analyses revealed a significant association between the interaction of subjective childhood SES and recent negative life events and circulating IL-6 (ß = -0.09, t(404) = -1.98, p = .049) and a marginally significant association with stimulated levels of IL-6 (ß = -0.10, t(365) = -1.94, p = .054), whereas these covariate-adjusted models revealed no main effects for subjective SES or recent negative life events. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between childhood SES and IL-6 seems to be moderated by recent life events, such that individuals with a relatively low childhood SES exhibit an inflammatory phenotype in the context of a high number of recent negative life events.

The Role of Occupational Status in the Association Between Job Strain and Ambulatory Blood Pressure During Working and Nonworking Days.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine whether job strain is more strongly associated with higher ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) among blue-collar workers compared with white-collar workers, to examine whether this pattern generalizes across working and nonworking days and across sex, and to examine whether this pattern is accounted for by psychosocial factors or health behaviors during daily life. METHODS: A total of 480 healthy workers (mean age = 43 years, 53% female) in the Adult Health and Behavior Project-Phase 2 completed ABP monitoring during 3 working days and 1 nonworking day. Job strain was operationalized as high psychological demand (> sample median) combined with low decision latitude (

Personality Correlates of Midlife Cardiometabolic Risk: The Explanatory Role of Higher-Order Factors of the Five-Factor Model.

Varying associations are reported between Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits and cardiovascular disease risk. Here, we further examine dispositional correlates of cardiometabolic risk within a hierarchical model of personality that proposes higher-order traits of Stability (shared variance of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, inverse Neuroticism) and Plasticity (Extraversion, Openness), and we test hypothesized mediation via biological and behavioral factors. In an observational study of 856 community volunteers aged 30-54 years (46% male, 86% Caucasian), latent variable FFM traits (using multiple-informant reports) and aggregated cardiometabolic risk (indicators: insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, blood pressure, adiposity) were estimated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The cardiometabolic factor was regressed on each personality factor or higher-order trait. Cross-sectional indirect effects via systemic inflammation, cardiac autonomic control, and physical activity were tested. CFA models confirmed the Stability "meta-trait," but not Plasticity. Lower Stability was associated with heightened cardiometabolic risk. This association was accounted for by inflammation, autonomic function, and physical activity. Among FFM traits, only Openness was associated with risk over and above Stability, and, unlike Stability, this relationship was unexplained by the intervening variables. A Stability meta-trait covaries with midlife cardiometabolic risk, and this association is accounted for by three candidate biological and behavioral factors.

Daily marital interaction quality and carotid artery intima-medial thickness in healthy middle-aged adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between marital interaction quality during daily life and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies have shown that marital status and quality of marriage are associated with cardiovascular health. However, little is known about the role of marital interaction quality during daily life in contributing to these effects. METHODS: The sample consisted of 281 healthy, employed middle-aged adults who were married or living with a partner in a marital-like relationship (mean age = 42.0 years, 88% white, 52% men). Marital interaction quality was assessed using hourly real-time ecological momentary assessments for 4 days, with participants rating their current or recent partner interactions on positive and negative characteristics (e.g., agreeableness and conflict). Carotid artery intima-medial thickness (IMT) was assessed using ultrasound imaging. RESULTS: Adjusting for demographics, positive marital interaction was inversely associated with IMT (b = -0.02, F(1,275) = 9.18, p = .002), and negative marital interaction was positively associated with IMT (b = 0.02 F(1,275) = 10.29, p = .001). These associations were not accounted for by behavioral and biological CVD risk factors and were consistent across age, sex, race, and education. The associations were also independent of marital interaction frequency, nonmarital social interaction quality, and personality factors. Global reports of marital quality, in contrast, were not associated with IMT. CONCLUSIONS: Marital quality as measured during real-time interactions between partners was associated with subclinical CVD in healthy middle-aged adults. This study supports the use of real-time social interaction assessment for characterizing links between social relationships and cardiovascular health.

Depressive symptom clusters as predictors of 6-year increases in insulin resistance: data from the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project.

OBJECTIVE: To examine longitudinal bidirectional associations between two depressive symptom clusters-the cognitive-affective and somatic-vegetative clusters--and insulin resistance, a marker of prediabetes. METHODS: Participants were 269 adults aged 50 to 70 years without diabetes enrolled in the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project, a prospective cohort study. At baseline and 6-year visits, participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and underwent a blood draw to quantify fasting insulin and glucose. We examined baseline BDI-II total, cognitive-affective, and somatic-vegetative scores as predictors of 6-year change in the homeostatic model of assessment (HOMA) score, an estimate of insulin resistance computed from fasting insulin and glucose. We also examined baseline HOMA score as a predictor of 6-year change in BDI-II total and subscale scores. RESULTS: Regression analyses, adjusted for demographic factors and baseline HOMA score, revealed that the baseline BDI-II somatic-vegetative score (ß = 0.14, p = .025), but not the cognitive-affective (ß = 0.001, p = .98) or total (ß = 0.10, p = .11) scores, predicted 6-year HOMA change. This result persisted in models controlling for anxiety symptoms and hostility. Several factors were examined as candidate mediators; however, only change in body mass index was a significant mediator (p = .042), accounting for 23% of the observed association. Baseline HOMA score did not predict 6-year change in BDI-II total or subscale scores (all p values >.56). CONCLUSIONS: Among adults aged 50 to 70 years, the somatic-vegetative symptoms of depression (e.g., fatigue, sleep disturbance, and appetite changes) may worsen insulin resistance and increase diabetes risk, partly, by increasing body mass index.