Abstract
Introduction:
Mounting evidence exists, linking positive emotion (e.g., joy) to favorable health outcomes. Little is known of the relationship between positive emotion and the American Heart Association defined concept of cardiovascular health (
CVH
), particularly in Hispanics/Latinos with chronic kidney disease (
CKD
), a group at high risk of cardiovascular mortality.
Hypothesis:
In Hispanics/Latinos with CKD, those with greater positive emotion will display more favorable CVH profiles.
Methods:
We analyzed data from adults ages 18-74 with stage 1-5 non-dialysis dependent CKD enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos in 2008-11. Positively worded items of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used to create a composite positive emotion score (range, 0-6; higher scores indicative of greater positive emotion). A composite overall CVH score was calculated using metrics of diet, body mass index, physical activity, cholesterol, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and smoking status. Each metric was defined as ideal, intermediate, or poor to compute an additive score ranging from 0-14; ideal metrics were also enumerated to compute an ideal CVH score, ranging from 0-7. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations of positive emotion with CVH, after adjusting for relevant covariates.
Results:
Overall, 1,716 participants screened positive for CKD
†
. In multivariable-adjusted models, a higher positive emotion score was associated with higher overall and ideal CVH scores when modeling CVH as a continuous outcome, (overall CVH: β=0.11, 95% CI=0.01, 0.20; ideal CVH: β=0.06, 95% CI=0.01, 0.11) (
Table 1
). A 1-unit increase in positive emotion was associated with 1.14 times higher odds of having
>
4 (vs. <4) ideal CVH indicators.
Conclusions:
These findings provide preliminary evidence for an association between positive emotion and CVH in Hispanics/Latinos with CKD. Future studies should explore the mechanism through which emotion influence heart health.