In an era where stress seems to be an inevitable part of life, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) has highlighted its potential impact on our heart health. The study titled "Perceived Stress From Childhood to Adulthood and Cardiometabolic End Points in Young Adulthood: An 18‐Year Prospective Study" has teased out the long-term effects of perceived stress on cardiovascular health (Guo et al., 2024).
The research team followed 276 participants from the Southern California Children's Health Study over an 18-year period. Their stress levels were evaluated at three distinct life stages: early childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), an instrumental psychological tool that evaluates the perception of stress, was utilized to assess how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded the study participants perceive their lives to be over the duration of the study (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983). The PSS has been demonstrated to be valuable in diagnosing and managing hypertension, a common condition often associated with stress.
High levels of perceived stress as measured by the PSS have been linked to elevated blood pressure, a key factor in hypertension (Spruill, 2010). This suggests that the PSS not only aids in the diagnosis of hypertension but also offers healthcare professionals a tool to monitor stress levels and adjust treatment plans accordingly.
The findings for this study were both intriguing and significant. Higher levels of perceived stress in adulthood were associated with increased overall cardiometabolic risk. This included factors such as thicker carotid artery intima-media thickness, higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a higher likelihood of obesity.
What's even more interesting is that those who reported consistently high stress levels from adolescence to adulthood had greater overall cardiometabolic risk. They had higher android/gynoid ratios, more body fat, and a higher likelihood of obesity in adulthood compared to those who experienced consistently low stress levels.
These results underscore the importance of managing stress from a young age. The study suggests that interventions aimed at reducing stress during adolescence could be an effective strategy for reducing cardiometabolic risk in adulthood. In other words, by learning to handle stress early on, individuals might lower their risk of developing heart-related diseases later in life.
While this study provides valuable insights into the long-term impact of perceived stress on heart health, it's important to note that further research is required to fully understand the underlying mechanisms and develop targeted stress management interventions.
In conclusion, this study emphasizes the crucial role of stress management throughout life for maintaining optimal heart health. By adopting stress reduction strategies from a young age, individuals can potentially reduce their risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. This finding underscores the importance for healthcare professionals to incorporate stress management techniques into preventive care strategies.
References:
Guo, F., Chen, X., Howland, S., Danza, P., Niu, Z., Gauderman, W.J., Habre, R., McConnell, R., Yan, M., Whitfield, L., Li, Y., Hodis, H.N., Breton, C.V., Bastain, T.M., & Farzan, S.F. (2024). Perceived Stress From Childhood to Adulthood and Cardiometabolic End Points in Young Adulthood: An 18‐Year Prospective Study. Journal of the American Heart Association, 13(2), e030741. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.123.030741
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396.
Spruill, T.M. (2010). Chronic psychosocial stress and hypertension. Current Hypertension Reports, 12(1), 10–16.
Image courtesy of Canva Business Account