Objective: Dispositional optimism measured with the Life Orientation Test has been associated with a variety of health outcomes. We assessed whether optimism was related to indices of healthy ageing, and if effects were mediated through health behaviours.
Method: A community sample of 128 men and women aged 65 to 80 years was recruited from general practice lists.
Social disparities in health persist into old age, and differences in psychophysiological responsivity may contribute to this pattern. We assessed whether higher socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with attenuated cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses elicited by cognitive tasks in old age. We tested 132 community-dwelling men and women aged 65-80 years, divided on the basis of educational attainment into higher and lower SES groups, and compared them with 26 higher educated participants aged 27-42 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamilial risk and environmental stress promote the development of alcohol dependence. This study tested two hypotheses: that a family history for alcoholism is associated with (i) a greater stress response and (ii) more effective stress response dampening by alcohol. We studied 29 high-risk subjects with a paternal history of alcoholism (PHA) and 23 family history negative (FHN) controls all aged 18-26 years, who were recruited using a representative sample of the local area population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLoneliness is a psychological experience related to social isolation and perceived lack of companionship, and may be relevant to health risk. The revised UCLA loneliness scale was completed by 240 working men and women aged 47-59 years, and related to affective state and neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and inflammatory responses. Loneliness scores were not associated with gender, age or socioeconomic position, but were lower in married than single or divorced participants, and were positively related to social isolation, low emotional support, ratings of depression, hopelessness and low self-esteem, and to reported sleep problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSocioeconomic status (SES) differences in cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk may be mediated in part by differential activation of neuroendocrine pathways. We have previously found that salivary cortisol levels over the working day are greater in lower than higher SES men, but that cortisol output is greater in higher than lower SES women. This study investigated the role of work stress in generating these patterns, analysing cortisol output in relation to job demands and job control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is thought that the salivary cortisol awakening response can serve as a reliable marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity. Response magnitude might be influenced by stress, but results of studies on work-related stress have been inconclusive. Non-compliance with the sampling schedule is a potential confounding factor that has rarely been controlled.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlucocorticoids can down-regulate immune activity, but acute stress has been reported to increase both cortisol and levels of plasma cytokines. We investigated individual differences in cortisol responses and their associations with proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), cardiovascular activity, and mental health. Saliva samples and blood were taken from 199 healthy middle-aged participants of the Whitehall II cohort at baseline, immediately after stress and 45 min later.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe assessed the changes in cardiac index and total peripheral resistance underlying blood pressure reactions and recovery from acute mental stress, in relation to socioeconomic status. A sample of 200 men and women aged 47-59 years was divided on the basis of occupation into higher, intermediate, and lower socioeconomic status groups. Blood pressure was monitored using the Portapres, and hemodynamic measures were derived by Modelflow processing of the arterial pressure waveform.
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