Couples in breast cancer survivorship: Daily associations in relationship satisfaction, stress, and health.

Romantic relationships are a key health determinant underlying both morbidity and mortality. Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser's prolific research revealed cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, and immune pathways connecting marriage to health and longevity.

Self-Rated Health and Mortality: Moderation by Purpose in Life.

Poor self-rated health consistently predicts reduced longevity, even when objective disease conditions and risk factors are considered. Purpose in life is also a reliable predictor of diverse health outcomes, including greater longevity. Given prior work in which we showed that purpose in life moderated the association between chronic conditions and health-related biological factors, the aim of the current study was to examine the role of purpose in life in moderating the relationship between subjective health and mortality.

Individuals' perceptions of social support from family and friends are associated with lower risk of sleep complaints and short sleep duration.

Objective: To examine whether individuals' perceptions of social support (SS) from partners, other family members, and friends are associated with risk of sleep complaints and short sleep duration.

Methods: A cross-sectional and prospective study with 1,688 community dwelling adults from the Retirement and Sleep Trajectories study. Four annual, self-administered questionnaires were mailed to participants in the year 2010-2014.

Childhood maltreatment exposure and physical functional limitations in late adulthood: examining subjective sleep quality in midlife as a mediator.

The present study had three major aims: 1) To identify sub-groups of adults with differing combinations of childhood maltreatment exposures, 2) to understand the association of childhood maltreatment sub-group membership with subjective sleep quality in midlife, and 3) to assess poor sleep quality in midlife as a mechanism between childhood maltreatment sub-group membership and physical functional limitations in late adulthood. Data come from the Biomarker project of the Midlife Development in the United States study ( = 1251). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse et al.

Multimorbidity, inflammation, and disability: a longitudinal mediational analysis.

Background: Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Mid-Life Development in the United States, this study examined the role of systemic inflammation in mediating the link between multimorbidity and increases in and onset of functional limitations over a 17-19 year follow-up period.

Methods: Participants completed questionnaire assessments of chronic conditions and functional limitations. Interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen were assayed in serum.

Relative sensitivity of cortisol indices to psychosocial and physical health factors.

Objective: Regulation of cortisol under resting conditions is widely used to assess physical and psychological status, but due to the diversity of possible assessments (e.g., cumulative levels; diurnal patterns), considering one or a few at a time hampers understanding and interpretation.

Moderation of the Association Between Chronic Medical Conditions and Functional Limitations Over Time by Physical Activity: Effects of Age.

Background: Age-related accumulation of chronic medical conditions increases disability in older adults. Physical activity potently combats chronic conditions and disability. However, it is unclear whether activity maintenance alleviates the effects of chronic conditions on disability and if this buffering effect differs with age.

The Association of Psychological Well-Being with Disablement Processes in a National Sample.

Objective: Objectives were to explore subgroups of individuals with differential disability trajectories and evaluate the protective effects of psychological well-being (i.e. hedonic and eudaimonic) in the presence of multiple disease conditions (or multimorbidity) and sociodemographic disadvantages.

The Role of Affect on Physical Health Over Time: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis Over 20 Years.

Background: While previous studies have investigated the interplay between affect and health (1) over an extended period of time, (2) in a representative population, and (3) while modelling positive and negative affect simultaneously, no single study has done all three at once.

Methods: The present study accomplishes this by sampling adults from the Midlife Development in the US study who completed affect (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998) and health measures (chronic conditions, Charlson, Szatrowski, Peterson, & Gold, 1994; functional limitations, McHorney, Ware, Lu, & Sherbourne, 1994; self-reported health) measured three times over 20 years. We ran three (one per health metric) random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, where positive and negative affect were modelled simultaneously.

Well-being and Long-term Physical Activity Participation in Midlife Adults: A Latent Class Analysis.

Background: Despite the benefits of physical activity, a large majority of adults fail to get the recommended amount of regular exercise, and interventions to increase physical activity typically achieve only temporary improvements. The potential contribution of positive psychological functioning to the maintenance of physical activity has not been widely examined.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that psychological well-being would increase the likelihood of sustained physical activity in adults using a person-centered approach with longitudinal data.

Self-Reported Sleep Problems Prospectively Increase Risk of Disability: Findings from the Survey of Midlife Development in the United States.

Objectives: To determine whether subjective poor sleep prospectively increases functional limitations and incident disability in a national sample of adults living in the United States.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Setting: Longitudinal Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS).

Persistent Psychological Well-being Predicts Improved Self-Rated Health Over 9-10 Years: Longitudinal Evidence from MIDUS.

Psychological well-being has been linked with better health, but mostly with cross-sectional evidence. Using MIDUS, a national sample of U.S.

Lighten UP! A community-based group intervention to promote psychological well-being in older adults.

Objectives: Aging is often characterized by declines in physical and mental health and increased risk for depression and social isolation. A protective factor that has been found to effectively moderate these phenomena is psychological well-being. The aim of his study was to pilot test a novel group intervention (Lighten UP! program) for the promotion of psychological well-being in older adults living in the community.

Inflammation Partially Mediates the Association of Multimorbidity and Functional Limitations in a National Sample of Middle-Aged and Older Adults: The MIDUS Study.

Objective: Older adults are increasingly likely to have two or more chronic medical conditions (multimorbidity) and are consequently at greater risk of disability. Here we examine the role of inflammation in mediating the relationship between multimorbidity and disability.

Method: Data are from the Survey of Mid-Life in the United States (MIDUS), a national sample of middle-aged and older adults.

Variability of sleep duration is related to subjective sleep quality and subjective well-being: an actigraphy study.

While there is a large body of evidence that poor subjective sleep quality is related to lower subjective well-being, studies on the relation of objective sleep measures and subjective well-being are fewer in number and less consistent in their findings. Using data of the Survey of Mid-Life in the United States (MIDUS), we investigated whether duration and quality of sleep, assessed by actigraphy, were related to subjective well-being and whether this relationship was mediated by subjective sleep quality. Three hundred and thirteen mainly white American individuals from the general population and 128 urban-dwelling African American individuals between 35 and 85 years of age were studied cross-sectionally.

Stressful events, social support, and cognitive function in middle-aged adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To examine the associations of stressful experiences and social support with cognitive function in a sample of middle-aged adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Method: Using data from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP; N = 623), we evaluated relationships between stressful events experienced in the past year, as well as social support, and cognitive performance in four domains: speed and flexibility, immediate memory, verbal learning and memory, and working memory. We assessed interactions between psychosocial predictors, and with APOE ε4 status.

Living well with medical comorbidities: a biopsychosocial perspective.

Objectives: We take a biopsychosocial perspective on age-related diseases by examining psychological correlates of having multiple chronic conditions and determining whether positive psychological functioning predicts advantageous profiles of biological risk factors.

Method: Respondents to the national survey of Midlife in the United States who participated in clinical assessments of health and biological processes (n = 998) provided information on chronic medical conditions and multiple domains of psychological functioning. Serum concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined from fasting blood samples.

Sleep quality, social well-being, gender, and inflammation: an integrative analysis in a national sample.

Social isolation and poor sleep quality are independent predictors of poor health outcomes and increased biological risk for disease. We previously found in a small sample of older women that the presence of social ties compensated for poor sleep in associations with the inflammatory protein interleukin 6 (IL-6). The current study extended those findings to a national sample of middle-aged and older men and women.

The Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW), a novel infrastructure for population health research: rationale and methods.

Background: Evidence-based public health requires the existence of reliable information systems for priority setting and evaluation of interventions. Existing data systems in the United States are either too crude (e.g.

Socioeconomic and psychosocial predictors of interleukin-6 in the MIDUS national sample.

Objective: To investigate whether psychosocial factors (i.e., depression, anxiety, and well-being) moderated educational gradients in interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels using data from the Survey of Midlife Development in the U.

Income, education, and inflammation: differential associations in a national probability sample (The MIDUS study).

Objective: To examine the associations between income and education and three markers of inflammation: interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and fibrinogen. Socioeconomic status is inversely linked with health outcomes, but the biological processes by which social position "gets under the skin" to affect health are poorly understood.

Method: Cross-sectional analyses involved participants (n = 704) from the second wave of the national population-based Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS).

Sleep duration in the United States: a cross-sectional population-based study.

Sleep duration is associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors, depression, automobile and workplace accidents, and prospective mortality. Little is known, however, about sleep patterns in the US population. The 2004-2007 National Health Interview Survey-Sample Adult Files provide nationally representative data for 110,441 noninstitutionalized US adults aged 18 years or older, and multinomial logistic regression examines whether variables in 5 domains-demographic, family structure, socioeconomic, health behavior, and health status-are associated with long or short sleep duration.

Chronic discrimination predicts higher circulating levels of E-selectin in a national sample: the MIDUS study.

Chronic discrimination in both minority and non-minority populations is linked to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease and increased mortality, but the biological processes through which discrimination affects health are unclear. The current study tested the hypothesis that discrimination in a sample of Caucasians would predict elevated serum levels of E-selectin, an indication of endothelial dysfunction which itself is associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk. Participants (N=804) in the biomarker sample from the Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) provided information about experiences of both major and everyday discrimination at two times separated by a 9-10 year interval.

Socioeconomic status predicts objective and subjective sleep quality in aging women.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that socioeconomic status (SES) would be associated with sleep quality measured objectively, even after controlling for related covariates (health status, psychosocial characteristics). Epidemiological studies linking SES and sleep quality have traditionally relied on self-reported assessments of sleep.

Methods: Ninety-four women, 61 to 90 years of age, participated in this study.

Plasma interleukin-6 and soluble IL-6 receptors are associated with psychological well-being in aging women.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that psychological well-being would predict lower plasma levels of inflammatory factors in aging women.

Design: One hundred thirty-five women ages 61-91 years (M = 74.5 years) participated in this study.