Pleasant events, activity restriction, and blood pressure in dementia caregivers.
OBJECTIVE
A combination of high engagement in pleasurable activities and low perceived activity restriction is potentially protective for a number of health and quality of life outcomes. This study tests the newly proposed Pleasant Events and Activity Restriction (PEAR) model to explain level of blood pressure (BP) in a sample of elderly dementia caregivers.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study included 66 caregivers, ≥55 years of age, providing in-home care to a relative with dementia. Planned comparisons were made to assess group differences in BP between caregivers reporting high engagement in pleasant events plus low perceived activity restriction (HPLR; n = 22) to those with low pleasure plus high restriction (LPHR; n = 23) or those with either high pleasure plus high restriction or low pleasure plus low restriction (HPHR/LPLR; n = 21).


RESULTS
After adjustments for age, sex, body mass index, use of antihypertensive medication, physical activity, and number of health problems, HPLR participants (86.78 mm|Hg) had significantly lower mean arterial pressure compared with LPHR participants (94.70 mm|Hg) (p = .01, Cohen's d = 0.89) and HPHR/LPLR participants (94.84 mm|Hg) (p = .023, d = 0.91). Similar results were found in post hoc comparisons of both systolic and diastolic BP.


CONCLUSIONS
This study extends support for the PEAR model to physical health outcomes. Differences in BP between the HPLR group and other groups were of large magnitude and thus clinically meaningful. The findings may inform intervention studies aimed at investigating whether increasing pleasant events and lowering perceived activity restriction may lower BP.
Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Elizabeth A
EA
Chattillion
Jenni
J
Ceglowski
Susan K
SK
Roepke
Roland
R
von Känel
Andres
A
Losada
Paul J
PJ
Mills
Rosa
R
Romero-Moreno
Igor
I
Grant
Thomas L
TL
Patterson
Brent T
BT
Mausbach
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D057181:Pleasure