title: Self-reported health and cardiovascular reactions to psychological stress in a large community sample: cross-sectional and prospective associations.
abstract: Exaggerated cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress have been implicated in a number of adverse health outcomes. This study examined, in a large community sample, the cross-sectional and prospective associations between reactivity and self-reported health. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured at rest and in response to an arithmetic stress task. Self-reported health was assessed concurrently and 5 years later. In cross-sectional analyses, those with excellent/good self-reported health exhibited larger cardiovascular reactions than those with fair/poor subjective health. In prospective analyses, participants who had larger cardiovascular reactions to stress were more likely to report excellent/good health 5 years later, taking into account their reported health status at the earlier assessment. The findings suggest that greater cardiovascular reactivity may not always be associated with negative health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England. A.C.Phillips@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Der
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult