Optimism and Cardiovascular Health: Longitudinal Findings From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Abstract

Objective Favorable cardiovascular health is associated with greater longevity free of cardiovascular disease. Although the prevalence of cardiovascular health decreases with age, less is known about protective factors that promote and preserve it over time. We investigated whether optimism was associated with better cardiovascular health over a 10-year period. Methods Participants included 3188 Black and White men and women from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Self-reported optimism was assessed in 2000 (this study’s baseline) with the revised Life Orientation Test. Favorable cardiovascular health was defined by healthy status on five components of cardiovascular functioning that were repeatedly assessed through 2010 either clinically or via self-report (blood pressure, lipids, body mass index, diabetes, and smoking status). Linear mixed-effects models examined whether optimism predicted cardiovascular health over time, adjusting for covariates such as sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, health status, and depression diagnosis. Results In models adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, optimism was associated with better cardiovascular health across all time points (β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval = 0.04–0.11, p ≤ .001) but not with rate of change in cardiovascular health. Findings were similar when adjusting for additional covariates. Optimism did not interact significantly with race (p = .85) but did with sex, such that associations seemed stronger for women than for men (p = .03). Conclusions Optimism may contribute to establishing future patterns of cardiovascular health in adulthood, but other factors may be more strongly related to how slowly or quickly cardiovascular health deteriorates over time.

Examining Optimism, Psychosocial Risks, and Cardiovascular Health Using Life's Simple 7 Metrics in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Jackson Heart Study

“…Moreover, there is increasing evidence that suggests high optimism leads to better health behaviors and CVD outcomes ( 81 ), such as in a meta-analysis showing the positive association between high optimism and better CVD-related outcomes ( 82 ). Further, optimism was associated with higher LS7 scores over time among young adults in the U.S. ( 41 ). These findings, including our results, may be due to both physiological and behavioral mechanisms by which optimism may influence CVH.…”

“…In another cross-sectional study in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), higher individual optimism levels were associated with higher CVH scores ( 38 ). In one longitudinal study among Black and White adults in the U.S., optimism was positively associated with better CVH over time ( 41 ). Thus, individual-level resilience resources, such as optimism, have the potential to be an effective intervention target in improving CVH ( 37 , 40 – 42 ).…”

“…Currently, there are several research gaps in the literature on optimism and CVH. First, the link between optimism and individual components of LS7, such as smoking or physical activity, has been documented ( 26 , 41 , 42 ). However, there is a lack of studies that examine the composite LS7 measure prospectively.…”

“…In one longitudinal study among Black and White adults in the U.S., optimism was positively associated with better CVH over time (41). Thus, individual-level resilience resources, such as optimism, have the potential to be an effective intervention target in improving CVH (37, [40][41][42].…”

Los modelos dimensionales de la personalidad y su importancia en la psicología de la salud

“…El optimismo tendría un impacto en la salud cardiovascular mediante mecanismos fisiológicos y comportamentales, sin embargo, la mayoría de los estudios se han adelantado con muestras de personas sanas y no cardiovasculares (Boehm et al, 2020;Rozanski, Bavishi, Kubzansky y Cohen, 2019). Este podría servir como un precursor de comportamientos saludables mediante la motivación para comportarse en formas consistentes con sus expectativas favorables del futuro (Kubzansky, Kubzansky y Maselko, 2004).…”