Abstract P256: Psychosocial Risk Factors Are Associated With Lower Cardiovascular Health, Measured by Life’s Essential 8, in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Abstract

Introduction: Psychosocial factors (social isolation, social support, trait anger, and depressive symptoms) are associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and incidence; few studies investigate whether they are associated with cardiovascular health (CVH), and none with a new definition of CVH, Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) published by the American Heart Association (AHA). Hypothesis: Cross-sectional associations of psychosocial factors and CVH will be inverse, and will be modified by sex and race. Methods: We included 11,674 ARIC cohort participants (58% women; 23% Black; mean age 57 (standard deviation (SD): 6) years) who attended Visit 2 (1990-1992) and had complete data. All psychosocial factors and the following LE8 components were measured at Visit 2: nicotine exposure, sleep, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Physical activity and diet were measured at Visit 1 (1987-1989). Psychosocial factors were categorized per standard convention or by tertiles. LE8 was scored per the AHA definition (0-100 range). Associations of each psychosocial factor with continuous LE8 score were assessed using multivariable linear regressions. Results: Mean LE8 score was 61 (SD: 15). Poorer scores on psychosocial factor assessments were associated with lower LE8 scores, with the largest magnitude of association for depressive symptoms (Figure). Participants with high levels of depressive symptoms had an LE8 score 8 points lower than those with low levels of depressive symptoms. Stratum-specific estimates and p-values for interaction terms suggested no modification by sex; however psychosocial factors were associated with approximately a 1 point lower LE8 score in White participants than in Black participants. Conclusion: Poorer psychosocial health factors were associated with lower CVH among middle-aged men and women in ARIC. Future work could investigate whether psychosocial factors modify the relationship between CVH and incident cardiovascular disease.