Associations of cardiac function and arterial stiffness with cerebrovascular disease

BACKGROUND

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) represent diffuse small vessel disease implicating the cardiac, systemic, and cerebral vasculatures. As the brain may be the end-organ of cumulative vascular disease, and higher education is protective of both cardiovascular and brain health, we aim to clarify their intertwining relationships.

METHODS

We evaluated participants (mean age = 64) from the UK Biobank with neuroimaging measures of WMHs, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) quantified using cardiovascular MRI, and arterial stiffness index (ASI) quantified using finger photoplethysmography. We used multiple regression to evaluate the basic, independent, and interactive relationships of LVEF status (n = 27,512) and ASI (n = 33,584) with WMHs. Moderated mediation analysis was used to determine whether the relationship between LVEF status and WMH was mediated by ASI and moderated by education.

RESULTS

Abnormal LVEF (β = -0.082, p < 0.001) and higher ASI (β = 0.02, p < 0.001) were associated with greater WMHs separately and independently, but not interactively. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between abnormal LVEF and WMH was mediated by ASI, for individuals with lower education (β = -0.004, p < 0.001). Abnormal LVEF was associated with lower cortical thickness in 16 predominantly frontotemporal and select parietal regions (FDR, q < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiovascular dysfunction is associated with regional cerebral atrophy and may precipitate cerebrovascular disease via stiffening of systemic vasculatures, particularly for individuals with lower education. Integrative approaches to study biophysiological vascular systems can elucidate the complex interplay between biological and social determinants of brain and cerebrovascular health.

Correction To: Subjective Socioeconomic Status Moderates How Resting Heart Rate Variability Predicts Pain Response

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s42761-023-00234-w.].

Low neighborhood deprivation buffers against hippocampal neurodegeneration, white matter hyperintensities, and poorer cognition

There is increasing recognition that socioeconomic inequalities contribute to disparities in brain and cognitive health in older adults. However, whether neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) buffers individuals with low individual SES against neurodegeneration, cerebrovascular disease, and poorer cognitive function is not well understood. Here, we evaluated whether neighborhood deprivation (Townsend deprivation index) interacted with individual SES (composite household income and education levels) on hippocampus volume, regional cortical thickness, white matter hyperintensities, and cognition in 19,638 individuals (mean age = 54.8) from the UK Biobank. We found that individuals with low individual SES had the smallest hippocampal volumes, greatest white matter hyperintensity burden, and poorest cognition if they were living in high deprivation neighborhoods but that these deleterious effects on brain and cognitive function were attenuated if they were living in low deprivation neighborhoods (p for interactions < .05). While neighborhood deprivation did not interact with individual SES to influence regional cortical thickness, higher neighborhood deprivation was independently associated with lower cortical thickness in 16 regions (false discovery rate q < .05). Across multiple brain indices and cognitive function analyses, we found converging evidence suggesting that low neighborhood deprivation may have a neuroprotective effect against neurodegeneration, cerebrovascular pathology, and cognitive impairment, particularly in vulnerable individuals with low household income and education levels.

Development and Validation of a Lifestyle Behavior Tool in Overweight and Obese Women through Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

There is a paucity of effective intervention tools for overweight/obese women to assess, guide and monitor their eating behavior. This study aimed to develop a lifestyle intervention tool, assess its acceptability and usefulness, and verify its construct validity in overweight/obese women. The 6P tool (Portion, Proportion, Pleasure, Phase, Physicality, Psychology) was developed and 15 women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 were interviewed to assess its perceived acceptability and usefulness. Subsequently, the revised 6P tool was tested in 46 women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short (IPAQ), and weight were measured at baseline and one-month. Most participants were satisfied with the presentation of the 6P tool (86.8%), and agreed it was useful in guiding healthy eating (81.6%) and raising awareness of eating behavior (97.4%). There were significant improvements in cognitive restraint (p = 0.010) and disinhibition (p = 0.030) (TFEQ), portion size (P1), pleasure behaviors (P3), and total composite 6P score (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant reduction in weight or increase in physical activity. The 6P tool is acceptable and presents with good validity for assessing lifestyle behaviors.

Developmental dyslexia and creativity: A meta-analysis

Despite difficulties in reading and writing, some research suggests that dyslexia may be related to higher levels of creativity. However, this pattern is not consistently observed. The current research sought to ascertain whether individuals with clinically diagnosed dyslexia exhibit higher creativity than controls through a meta-analysis. Fourteen studies that assessed the creativity of 397 individuals with clinically diagnosed dyslexia and 453 controls were reviewed. Random-effects meta-analysis revealed an overall non-significant difference in creativity scores between those with dyslexia and controls. Additionally, method factors such as the type of creativity task and whether intelligence was controlled for, as well as sample-related factors such as gender, did not explain differences in the dyslexia-creativity relationship. Nonetheless, individuals with dyslexia significantly outperformed controls in creativity scores in adult samples, but not in younger child/adolescent samples. Overall, the current findings provide limited support for the idea that individuals with dyslexia are more creative, and that past evidence of this relationship may be limited to adult samples.

Subjective social status and inflammation: The role of culture and anger control

OBJECTIVE

Research on subjective social status (SSS) and inflammation risk suffers from a lack of cross-cultural data as well as inconsistent findings between SSS and the biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP). The current study addressed these issues by examining possible cultural differences in the SSS-CRP link with anger control as an underlying mechanism while controlling for potential confounds such as wealth, education, and health factors.

METHOD

Participants comprised 1,435 adults from the Biomarker Project of the MIDUS (American) and MIDJA (Japanese) studies. Participants' SSS and tendency to control anger were assessed through surveys, and their CRP levels were measured through fasting blood samples.

RESULTS

Results showed that for Americans, CRP levels increased as SSS decreased, but for the Japanese, there was no relationship between SSS and CRP. Furthermore, this moderating effect of culture was mediated by anger control such that Americans controlled their anger less as SSS decreased, which then predicted higher levels of CRP, whereas the Japanese controlled their anger less as SSS increased, but this relationship did not predict CRP levels. These findings were specific to anger control (and not other varieties of anger) and robust to adjustment for a variety of potential confounds.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that culture exerts a moderating effect on the relationship between SSS and CRP, and this effect occurs through cultural differences in how SSS relates to anger control. The current study also highlights the need to consider cultural factors and psychosocial processes in further research on SSS and health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Partner Commitment in Close Relationships Mitigates Social Class Differences in Subjective Well-Being

The present exploratory research examined the possibility that commitment in close relationships among lower class individuals, despite greater strains on those relationships, buffers them from poorer subjective well-being (SWB). In two samples of close relationship dyads, we found that when partners reported high commitment to the relationship, the typical deficits in relatively lower class individuals’ well-being compared to their upper-class counterparts, assessed as life satisfaction among romantic couples (Study 1) and negative affect linked to depression among ethnically diverse close friendships (Study 2), were mitigated. Conversely, when partners reported low commitment to the relationship, relatively lower class individuals reported poorer well-being than their upper-class counterparts. These patterns were not found with actors’ commitment. Implications of these findings for upending the class divide in SWB are discussed.

Polygenic hazard scores in preclinical Alzheimer disease

Identifying asymptomatic older individuals at elevated risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD) is of clinical importance. Among 1,081 asymptomatic older adults, a recently validated polygenic hazard score (PHS) significantly predicted time to AD dementia and steeper longitudinal cognitive decline, even after controlling for APOE ɛ4 carrier status. Older individuals in the highest PHS percentiles showed the highest AD incidence rates. PHS predicted longitudinal clinical decline among older individuals with moderate to high Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (amyloid) and Braak (tau) scores at autopsy, even among APOE ɛ4 noncarriers. Beyond APOE, PHS may help identify asymptomatic individuals at highest risk for developing Alzheimer neurodegeneration. Ann Neurol 2017;82:484-488.

Signs of Social Class: The Experience of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life

By some accounts, global economic inequality is at its highest point on record. The pernicious effects of this broad societal trend are striking: Rising inequality is linked to poorer health and well-being across countries, continents, and cultures. The economic and psychological forces that perpetuate inequality continue to be studied, and in this theoretical review, we examine the role of daily experiences of economic inequality-the communication of social class signals between interaction partners-in this process. We theorize that social class signals activate social comparison processes that strengthen group boundaries between the haves and have nots in society. In particular, we argue that class signals are a frequent, rapid, and accurate component of person perception, and we provide new data and analyses demonstrating the accuracy of class signaling in 60-s interactions, Facebook photographs, and isolated recordings of brief speech. We suggest that barriers to the reduction of economic inequality in society arise directly from this class signaling process through the augmentation of class boundaries and the elicitation of beliefs and behaviors that favor the economic status quo.