Abstract P320: Optimism and Cardiovascular Health Among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study

Abstract

Introduction: Compared to other racial and ethnic groups, African Americans experience greater negative psychosocial factors (depression, stress), which are related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Little research has examined the association of positive psychosocial factors (optimism) with cardiovascular health in this population. Using the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) data, we examined the association of optimism with the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 TM (LS7), a measure of seven metrics that assesses a person’s cardiovascular health. Hypothesis: Higher levels of optimism are positively associated with individual LS7 metrics, and positively associated with the total LS7 score. Methods: We evaluated cross-sectional associations of optimism with each LS7 metric [cigarette smoking, physical activity, diet, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose] and with a composite LS7 score among 4,761 participants, 21-95 years old (women=3,070; men=1,691) enrolled in the JHS, a single-site, community-based cohort of African Americans residing in Jackson, MS. Optimism was measured in tertiles (low, moderate, high) to examine threshold effects. Each LS7 metric was classified as poor, intermediate, and ideal. LS7 metrics were also summed to create a total continuous score (0-13) categorized in tertiles (low, moderate, high). Multinomial logistic regression estimated the odds ratios (OR, 95% confidence interval-CI) of intermediate (vs. poor) and ideal (vs. poor) LS7 metric by levels of optimism. Multinomial regression also estimated the odds of moderate (vs. low) or high (vs. low) total LS7 score by optimism. Models adjusted for demographics, SES, and depressive symptoms. Results: Descriptive findings showed that participants who reported high optimism had ideal physical activity, nutrition, smoking, blood pressure, glucose and high total LS7 score (all p<0.01). After adjustment for age, sex, education, income, marital status, and insurance status, participants who reported high (vs. low) optimism had a 39% increased odds of having ideal (vs. poor) physical activity (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.10-1.76) and a 33% increased odds of having ideal (vs. poor) smoking (OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.02-1.73). Participants who reported high (vs. low) optimism had a 34% greater odds of having a high (vs. low) total LS7 score (OR 1.34 95% CI 1.03-1.74) after full adjustment. Conclusion: Optimism is associated with ideal physical activity and ideal smoking, which is important for promoting cardiovascular health and reducing the risk of CVD among African Americans in this sample.