Mean Affect Moderates the Association between Affect Variability and Mental Health.

Unlabelled: Increasing evidence suggests that within-person variation in affect is a dimension distinct from mean levels along which individuals can be characterized. This study investigated affect variability's association with concurrent and longitudinal mental health and how mean affect levels moderate these associations. The mental health outcomes of depression, panic disorder, self-rated mental health, and mental health professional visits from the second and third waves of the Midlife in the United States Study were used for cross-sectional ( = 1,676) and longitudinal outcomes ( = 1,271), respectively.

Positive epidemiology, revisited: the case for centering human rights and economic justice.

In recent years, a growing body of research in positive epidemiology has sought to expand the traditional focus of epidemiologic research beyond risk factors for disease and towards a more holistic understanding of health that includes the study of positive assets that shape well-being more broadly. While this paradigm shift holds great promise for transforming people's lives for the better, it is also critiqued for showcasing decontextualized perspectives that could cause great harm to the public's health if translated uncritically into population-based interventions. In this commentary, we argue for orienting positive epidemiology within a human rights and economic justice framework to mitigate this threat, and we discuss two examples of previously proposed health assets (religious involvement and marriage) that demonstrate the urgent need for positive epidemiologic research to center health equity.

Who Benefits and How: Five Dimensions of Adolescent Psychological Well-Being and Their Relative Impact on Cardiometabolic Health in Adulthood.

Purpose: Positive dimensions of psychological well-being in adolescence may help youth preserve cardiometabolic health (CMH) as they age, but little is known about which aspects of well-being matter most and for whom. This study examines the differential impact of five dimensions of adolescent psychological well-being on CMH maintenance in adulthood and considers social patterning in both their distribution and respective health benefits.

Methods: Data were from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 3,464), five dimensions of psychological well-being were identified at baseline (1994-1995; mean age = 15 years): happiness, optimism, self-esteem, belonging, and feeling loved.

In the Words of Early Adolescents: A Novel Assessment of Positive Psychological Well-Being Predicts Young Adult Depressive Symptoms.

Purpose: Given the burden of depression in young adulthood, identifying protective early life factors is important. Protective factors like positive psychological well-being may be challenging to assess via conventional methods if early adolescents lack personal insight or informants disagree. We investigated whether essays written by 11-year-olds could indicate the presence of positive psychological well-being and predict depressive symptom levels in young adulthood, beyond informant reports of problematic behaviors.

Affect variability and physical health: The moderating role of mean affect.

Research has only begun to explore how affect variability relates to physical health and has typically not assessed long-term associations nor considered the moderating role of mean affect. Therefore, we used data from the Midlife in the United States Study waves 2 (N = 1512) and 3 (N = 1499) to test how affect variability predicted concurrent and long-term physical health while also testing the moderating role of mean affect. Results indicated that greater negative affect variability was associated concurrently with a greater number of chronic conditions (p = .

Effects of Induced Optimism on Subjective States, Physical Activity, and Stress Reactivity.

This study examined effects of experimentally-induced optimism on physical activity and stress reactivity with community volunteers. Using an intervention to induce short-term optimism, we conducted two harmonized randomized experiments, performed simultaneously at separate academic institutions. All participants were randomized to either the induced optimism intervention or to a neutral control activity using essay-writing tasks.

Interventions to Modify Psychological Well-Being: Progress, Promises, and an Agenda for Future Research.

Psychological well-being, characterized by feelings, cognitions, and strategies that are associated with positive functioning (including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being), has been linked with better physical health and greater longevity. Importantly, psychological well-being can be strengthened with interventions, providing a strategy for improving population health. But are the effects of well-being interventions meaningful, durable, and scalable enough to improve health at a population-level? To assess this possibility, a cross-disciplinary group of scholars convened to review current knowledge and develop a research agenda.

Adolescent Psychological Assets and Cardiometabolic Health Maintenance in Adulthood: Implications for Health Equity.

Background Positive cardiometabolic health (CMH) is defined as meeting recommended levels of multiple cardiometabolic risk factors in the absence of manifest disease. Prior work finds that few individuals-particularly members of minoritized racial and ethnic groups-meet these criteria. This study investigated whether psychological assets help adolescents sustain CMH in adulthood and explored interactions by race and ethnicity.

Child psychological well-being and adult health behavior and body mass index.

Objective: Psychological well-being (PWB) is linked with health behaviors among adults, but it is unclear if childhood PWB prospectively predicts healthy adulthood biobehavioral profiles. Such evidence may identify developmental windows for establishing positive health trajectories across the lifespan. Using data spanning 30 years, we investigated whether PWB at age 11 was associated with health behaviors and body mass index (BMI) at ages 33 and 42.

The social determinants of ideal cardiovascular health: A global systematic review.

This systematic review synthesizes research published from January 2010-July 2022 on the social determinants of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) carried out around the world and compares trends in high-income countries (HICs) to those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 41 studies met inclusion criteria (n = 28 HICs, n = 13 LMICs). Most were from the United States (n = 22) and cross-sectional (n = 33), and nearly all evaluated associations among adults.

Resilience factors during the Coronavirus pandemic: Testing the main effect and stress buffering models of optimism and positive affect with mental and physical health.

This study investigates associations between resilience factors (optimism and positive affect) and self-rated health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal data were collected ( = 292) across five assessments. Multilevel modeling tested main effects of the resilience factors and how they interacted with stress to predict health.

Positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular disease: Exploring mechanistic and developmental pathways.

Empirical research regarding the health benefits of positive psychological well-being (e.g., positive emotions, life satisfaction, purpose in life, and optimism) has flourished in recent years, particularly with regard to cardiovascular disease.

Psychological Well-Being in Childhood and Cardiometabolic Risk in Middle Adulthood: Findings From the 1958 British Birth Cohort.

Childhood adversity is linked to poor cardiometabolic outcomes, but less is known about positive childhood factors. Using data from 4,007 members of the 1958 British Birth Cohort, we investigated whether children with greater psychological well-being had lower adulthood cardiometabolic risk. At age 11, participants wrote essays about their future.

Pilot study evaluating a 12-h mindfulness-based curriculum for OB/GYN residents.

Objectives: This prospective cohort study assessed the impact of a 12-h mindfulness-based wellness curriculum on OB-GYN residents' burnout, mindfulness, and self-compassion.

Methods: Fourteen 1st year OB-GYN residents at the University of California, Irvine (n = 7 in two separate cohorts) were eligible and participated in a 12-h, in-person wellness curriculum between January 2017 and May 2018 emphasizing meditation training, present moment emotional awareness, and self-compassion. The curriculum included didactic and experiential components and home-based exercises.

Is more, better? Relationships of multiple psychological well-being facets with cardiometabolic disease.

Objective: Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Assessments of psychological well-being taken at one time point are linked to reduced cardiometabolic risk, but psychological well-being may change over time and how longitudinal trajectories of psychological well-being may be related to CMD risk remains unclear. Furthermore, psychological well-being is a multidimensional construct comprised of distinct facets, but no work has examined whether sustaining high levels of multiple facets may confer additive protection.

Optimism and Lipid Profiles in Midlife: A 15-Year Study of Black and White Adults.

Introduction: Optimism is associated with better cardiovascular health, yet little is known about the underlying mechanisms and whether protective relationships are consistently observed across diverse groups. This study examines optimism's association with lipid profiles over time and separately among Black and White men and women.

Methods: Data were from 3,206 middle-aged adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study.

Does life satisfaction reduce risk of incident hypertension and stroke? Evidence from the Whitehall II cohort.

Background: Previous studies showed life satisfaction is related to reduced risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes, but its association with other cardiometabolic endpoints including hypertension and stroke remains unexplored. This study examined life satisfaction's prospective association with incident hypertension and stroke in middle-aged adults.

Methods: At baseline (1985-1988), 6225 healthy British civil servants aged 35-55 from the Whitehall II cohort completed the validated Satisfaction with Life Scale and provided information regarding sociodemographics, a range of health-related factors, and psychological distress.

Comprehensive Analysis of Zinc Derivatives Pro-proliferative, Anti-Apoptotic and Antimicrobial Effect on Human Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes in a Simulated, Nutrient-deficient Environment .

Zinc as therapeutic agent in skin and wound care has been known for centuries, but its role is controversial and comprehensive investigations in nutrient-deficient environments are lacking. We aimed to provide a broad analysis of different zinc derivatives on proliferation, apoptosis and antimicrobial properties in a simulated nutrient-deficient environment . Human fibroblasts (CRL2522) and keratinocytes (HaCaT) were treated with a broad concentration range (10 - 0.

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

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.

Optimism and risk of incident hypertension: a target for primordial prevention.

Aims: Optimism is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk; however, few prospective studies have considered optimism in relation to hypertension risk specifically. We investigated whether optimism was associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension in U.S.

Sense of purpose in life and five health behaviors in older adults.

Accumulating evidence shows that a higher sense of purpose in life is associated with lower risk of chronic conditions and premature mortality. Health behaviors might partially explain these findings, however, the prospective association between sense of purpose and health behaviors is understudied. We tested whether a higher sense of purpose at baseline was associated with lower likelihood of developing unhealthy behaviors over time.

Positive emotions and favorable cardiovascular health: A 20-year longitudinal study.

No studies have examined whether positive emotions lead to favorable cardiovascular health (CVH) early in the lifespan, before cardiovascular disease is diagnosed. Moreover, the direction of the association has not been thoroughly investigated. Among younger adults, we investigated whether baseline positive emotions were associated with better CVH over 20 years.

The Association of Optimism with Sleep Duration and Quality: Findings from the Coronary Artery Risk and Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

Optimism is associated with better health outcomes with hypothesized effects due in part to optimism's association with restorative health processes. Limited work has examined whether optimism is associated with better quality sleep, a major restorative process. We test the hypothesis that greater optimism is associated with more favorable sleep quality and duration.

Development of the State Optimism Measure.

Background: Optimism, or positive expectations about the future, is associated with better health. It is commonly assessed as a trait, but it may change over time and circumstance. Accordingly, we developed a measure of state optimism.