Daily Physical Symptoms Research Articles

Combined effects of cumulative stress and daily stressors on daily health.

It has been proposed that cumulative stress, one's experience of chronic stressors across multiple domains, worsens health by altering the extent to which daily stressors impact daily affect and physical symptoms. Recent work confirms that high cumulative stress exacerbates the association between daily stressor exposure and increased daily negative affect, though it remains untested the extent to which cumulative stress and daily stressor exposure interact to predict daily symptoms. We employed data from the second wave of the midlife in the U.S. Survey (N = 2,022; Mage = 56.2; 57.2% female) to examine whether levels of cumulative stress compound daily symptoms on days with (vs. without) stressful events. Experiences of life stressors across eight domains, occurrence of daily stressors, and occurrence, number, and severity of daily physical symptoms were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Greater cumulative stress and experiencing (vs. not experiencing) a daily stressor independently increased the odds of occurrence, number, and severity of daily symptoms (ps ≤ .016). Moreover, after adjusting for covariates (e.g., sociodemographic characteristics, chronic health conditions, percent of days with reported stressors, and health behaviors), the associations between daily stressor exposure and odds of occurrence, number, and severity of daily symptoms were potentiated as levels of cumulative stress increased (ps ≤ .009). The negative implications of daily stressor exposure for daily health may be most pronounced in those who report higher levels of cumulative stress across multiple life domains and across time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A Coordinated Analysis of Physical Reactivity to Daily Stressors: Age and Proactive Coping Matter

Proactive coping involves efforts to prepare for future stressors and may have implications for physical responses to stress. We examined age differences in physical reactivity to daily stressors moderated by proactive coping in a coordinated analysis across two separate daily diary studies. Study 1 included data from 116 older (age range 60–90) and 107 younger (age range 18–36) adults on daily stressors and physical health symptoms for 8 consecutive days. Study 2 included data from 140 adults (age range 19–86) on daily stressors and self-rated physical health for 29 consecutive days. Participants in both studies reported on their proactive coping on the first day of the study. Physical reactivity was indexed via lagged multilevel models as increases in daily physical symptoms in Study 1 and decreases in daily physical health in Study 2 with corresponding increases in daily stressors. Results indicated that in both studies, younger adults with low proactive coping were more physically reactive to daily stressors compared to younger adults with high proactive coping. Proactive coping was associated with reduced physical reactivity to daily stressors among younger adults, consistent with the characterization of a high degree of control and ample opportunities at earlier phases of adulthood which are critical for accumulating resources to proactively cope.

Age Discrimination During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations With Daily Well-Being

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ageist attitudes have been pervasive in public discourse, interpersonal relationships, and medical decision-making. For example, older adults have been portrayed as vulnerable while younger adults have been portrayed as reckless. The current study examined age discrimination during COVID-19 and associations with daily affect and physical symptoms. Positive events and age were examined as moderators. From March to August 2020, 1493 participants aged 18-91 (mean=40) in the U.S. and Canada completed surveys for seven consecutive evenings about discrimination, positive events, affect, and physical symptoms. Multilevel models controlled for age, race, income, education, sample (university students vs. community), and country of residence. Results indicated that individuals who reported more age discrimination had higher negative affect (b=36.44, SE=3.97), lower positive affect (b=-19.07, SE=4.10), and increased physical symptoms (b=3.85, SE=0.49; p<0.001 for all), compared to those with fewer reports of age discrimination. Within-persons, days with age discrimination were associated with higher negative affect (b=3.66, SE=1.36, p=0.008), lower positive affect (b=-2.60, SE=1.23, p=0.037), and increased physical symptoms (b=0.26, SE=0.11, p=0.02), compared to days on which age discrimination was not reported. Positive events moderated the between-person association of age discrimination with physical symptoms such that individuals with more age discrimination and more frequent positive events reported fewer daily physical symptoms than those with more age discrimination and less frequent positive events. Age did not moderate the associations. Age discrimination was associated with poorer daily well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and may have long-term impacts on intergenerational solidarity and attitudes toward aging.

Self-compassion as predictor of daily physical symptoms and chronic illness across older adulthood.

This study examined whether self-compassion could benefit daily physical symptoms and chronic illness in early and advanced old age. The hypotheses were evaluated in a 4-year longitudinal study of 264 older adults. Results showed that self-compassion predicted lower levels of daily physical symptoms across the study period in advanced, but not early, old age (T-ratio = −1.93, p = 0.05). In addition, self-compassion was associated with fewer increases in chronic illness in advanced, but not early, old age (T-ratio = − 2.45, p < 0.02). The results of this study suggest that self-compassion may be particularly adaptive towards the end of life.

Short-term effects of social stressors at work on rumination and physical symptoms in social workers.

The present study focuses on social stressors at work and the development of physical symptoms in social workers on a daily basis. In a seven-day diary study it was anticipated that daily rumination functions as a mediator, linked to additional daily physical symptoms in individuals. Before and after work, 81 social workers completed daily questions on social stressors, rumination, and physical symptoms. Multilevel analyses of up to 391 daily measurements revealed that more intense social stressors predicted more rumination, as well as physical symptoms. Rumination anteceded higher physical symptoms. A test of the indirect effects showed a significant indirect path from social stressors at work via rumination to physical symptoms. Hence, it was found that social stressors and rumination contribute to the ongoing health crisis in the social work profession. These findings advance our understanding of the stress mechanisms in social work, as well as point to individual and organizational aspects that occupational health prevention programs should consider.

Fluctuation in physical symptoms, coping, and mood in patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: assessing mediation effects using a daily diary approach

This study examines the indirect effect between parallel fluctuation in daily physical symptoms, symptom-related coping, and mood in patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Two models were analyzed with a within-person mediating role of coping and mood, respectively. Physical symptoms, coping (brooding, reflection, co-rumination, positive reframing, venting, acceptance, and active coping), and positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) were reported by 229 patients for 28 consecutive evenings after post-transplant hospital discharge. The mediating role of coping fluctuation was partially supported since a competitive model assuming coping reactivity was more reliable. Fluctuation in daily PA and NA mediated relationship of physical symptoms with brooding, co-rumination and venting. Daily changes in positive reframing, acceptance and reflection, partially mediated the association between changes in physical symptoms and mood. The study results indicate the usefulness of intervention addressed to the management of daily mood and stimulation of positive reframing and acceptance in post-HSCT patients.

Sense of Purpose Moderates the Associations Between Daily Stressors and Daily Well-being.

Having a sense of purpose in life has been consistently demonstrated as a predictor of positive health outcomes, including less perceived stress, yet, little is known about the role of sense of purpose on stressful days. The current study investigated the sense of purpose as a moderator of stressor-related changes in daily physical symptoms, positive affect, and negative affect. A subset of the Midlife in the United States study (n = 1949, mage: 56.4 years) reported their sense of purpose, along with up to eight daily assessments of stressors, affect, and physical symptoms. Multilevel models evaluated whether sense of purpose was associated with deviations in affect or physical symptom reporting on days when participants reported a stressor versus days when stressors did not occur. Sense of purpose was associated with higher daily positive affect, lower daily negative affect, and fewer daily physical symptoms. Compared with individuals who reported lower levels of purpose, those reporting higher levels encountered the same number of daily stressors, yet showed less of an increase in negative affect and physical symptoms on stressor days than on stressor-free days. Purpose did not predict changes in positive affect in response to daily stressors. Findings provide evidence that a purposeful life may be characterized by lower negative affect and physical symptom reporting on stressful days.

Social support attenuates the harmful effects of stress in healthy adult women

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that social support buffers the effects of perceived stress on physical symptoms in healthy women. MethodsThe study was conducted in the Southwest United States and data were collected from 2006 to 2010. Participants were 52 healthy adult women who completed a baseline questionnaire and a 21-day daily diary. Social support was assessed in the baseline questionnaire and perceived stress and physical symptoms were assessed in the daily diary. Multilevel analyses were used to predict both same day and next day physical symptoms from baseline social support and daily perceived stress. ResultsThe hypotheses were supported when predicting both same and next day physical symptoms. For the same day, perceived stress and the social support × perceived stress interaction were both related to physical symptoms. For the next day, the social support × perceived stress interaction but not perceived stress was related to physical symptoms when controlling for previous day physical symptoms. The interactions were such that women higher in social support had smaller increases in same and next day physical symptoms on days of higher perceived stress than women lower in social support. ConclusionsSocial support may buffer the effects of daily perceived stress on physical symptoms in healthy women. Future research should investigate what aspects and in what contexts social support may reduce the effects of perceived stress on physical symptoms and examine how social support may affect the development of long-term health problems through increases in daily physical symptoms.

The association of daily physical symptoms with future health

RationaleDaily physical symptoms play a critical role in health and illness experiences. Despite their daily prevalence, the ability of these symptoms to predict future health status is debated. ObjectiveThe current study examined whether physical symptom reports predict future health outcomes independent of trait measures of emotion. MethodsParticipants (N = 1189) who completed both Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Surveys I and II as well as the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) reported their daily physical symptoms at baseline and number of reported chronic conditions and functional disability nearly 10 years later. ResultsPhysical symptoms at baseline significantly predicted the occurrence of chronic conditions and functional impairment at long-term follow-up, even after adjusting for self-reported affect, self-reported health, and previous health status. ConclusionFindings suggest that daily physical symptoms are unique indicators of future health status.

Exploring Daily Religious/Spiritual Activities Among Older Couples: Religious/Spiritual Influence Moderating the Effects of Health Symptoms on Marital Interactions

Using data from 191 later-life couples across 14 days, patterns of husband and wife religious/spiritual activities were explored, as well as how those activities predicted daily marital processes and how they moderated the links between daily physical symptoms and marital interactions. Husband and wife reports of religious/spiritual influence were linked with their own positive and negative marital interactions (“actor” effects). However, only husband religious/spiritual influence was linked with wife marital interactions (“partner” effects). Religious/spiritual influence moderated the link between symptoms and marital interactions for wives. Findings suggest a buffering effect of religious/spiritual activities on daily symptoms for older married wives.

Neighborhood cohesion and daily well-being: Results from a diary study

Neighborly cohesiveness has documented benefits for health. Furthermore, high perceived neighborhood cohesion offsets the adverse health effects of neighborhood socioeconomic adversity. One potential way neighborhood cohesion influences health is through daily stress processes. The current study uses participants (n = 2022, age 30–84 years) from The Midlife in the United States II and the National Study of Daily Experiences II, collected between 2004 and 2006, to examine this hypothesis using a within-person, daily diary design. We predicted that people who perceive high neighborhood cohesion are exposed to fewer daily stressors, such as interpersonal arguments, lower daily physical symptoms and negative affect, and higher daily positive affect. We also hypothesized that perceptions of neighborhood cohesion buffer decline in affective and physical well-being on days when daily stressors do occur. Results indicate that higher perceived neighborhood cohesion predicts fewer self-reported daily stressors, higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and fewer physical health symptoms. High perceived neighborhood cohesion also buffers the effects of daily stressors on negative affect, even after adjusting for other sources of social support. Results from the present study suggest interventions focusing on neighborhood cohesion may result in improved well-being and may minimize the adverse effect of daily stressors.

Daily physical complaints and hippocampal function: An fMRI study of pain modulation by anxiety

Pain is a popular physical complaint in human. It is known that experimental anxiety modulates pain processing through hippocampal amplification, whereas it is not known whether a similar experimental reaction is related to daily physical complaints known as 'somatization'. The purpose of this study is to investigate the neural correlates of pain modulation induced by anxiety, particularly in the hippocampus, and how individual differences in this neural reaction relate to somatization. We measured neural response to noxious electrical stimulations, as well as the response to the preceding visual anticipatory cues (which induced low anxiety or high anxiety), by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Individual daily physical symptoms were assessed by using the somatization subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90 revised (SCL-90-R). Correlation coefficients between the neural activations and the somatization scores were calculated. We found that manifestation of daily physical symptoms was related to smaller differences in hippocampus activation between high and low anxiety states, suggesting that the ability of the hippocampus to distinguish anxiety states was weakened by the chronic condition that caused the daily physical symptoms. The proper inhibition of neural activation in low anxiety states in the hippocampus and the anterior insula was observed to occur in companionship with lower daily physical complaints. These findings indicate that anxiety's alteration of the network that includes the hippocampus and that is associated with pain modulation underlies the manifestation of somatization.

Health-Engagement Control Strategies and 2-Year Changes in Older Adults' Physical Health

This study examined the associations between older adults' daily physical symptoms (e.g., chest pain or difficulty breathing) and 2-year changes in chronic health problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease or cancer) and in functional problems (e.g., difficulty dressing or moving around at home). We reasoned that these associations depend on a person's active control processes aimed at counteracting physical health problems (i.e., health-engagement control strategies, or HECS). In particular, we hypothesized that high levels of HECS buffer the adverse effect of daily physical symptoms on increases in chronic and functional health problems. We found that daily physical symptoms were associated with declines in chronic and functional health among older adults who were not engaged in addressing their health problems, but not among their counterparts who reported high levels of HECS. These findings suggest that active control strategies play an important role in the maintenance of older adults' physical health.