▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
Today, it is the Lantern Festival in China, which is a happy and joyful festival. According to tradition, on this day, people should make flower lanterns, guess lantern riddles, eat lanterns, and celebrate the festival together.
To celebrate the festival, we must have a good mood; in daily life, we must also have a good mood. After all, mood is closely related to health, and good or bad mood will have different effects on physical and mental health.
Bad mood, such as anxiety, is harmful to health. According to a new study published in the journal Of the American Heart Association (JAHA), an authoritative journal in the field of cardiovascular disease, middle-aged men who are often anxious may experience a deterioration in their cardiometabolic health earlier and are more likely to suffer from cardiometabolic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The "Guidelines for the Prevention of Cardiometabolic Diseases in China's Healthy Lifestyle" points out that cardiometabolic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, stroke, etc., are the primary causes of death and disease burden in China.
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In the new study, the researchers followed up 1561 male participants aged 33-84 years to assess the association of 2 aspects of anxiety — neuroticism and anxiety — with the risk of cardiometabolic disease.
Neuroticism is a personality trait with a stable tendency to see experiences as a threat, to think that challenges are uncontrollable, and in many cases frequent and intense negative emotions, such as fear, sadness, and anger, are one of the key factors contributing to anxiety and mood disorders.
Worry is a coping mechanism that prepares people for future threats. Sometimes, worries don't have to be a health problem, but can lead to constructive solutions to threats. However, chronic, uncontrollable, and intense anxiety is a maladaptive and pathological process that is the basis for anxiety and mood disorders.
At the beginning of the study, using the Eisenker Personality Questionnaire-Epi-Q, the researchers assessed the participants' degree of neuroticism and anxiety; counted the participants' lifestyle information (smoking, drinking, exercise, etc.); and also measured the levels of seven markers associated with cardiometabolic disease.
If the participants met the following criteria, they were risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. Specifically:
2 types associated with hypertension, including systolic blood pressure > 130 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure >85 mmHg;
2 are associated with dyslipidemia, including total cholesterol ≥ 240 mg/dL and triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL;
1 is associated with obesity, namely body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2;
1 diabetes-related, i.e., fasting blood glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL;
One is associated with inflammation, namely erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), ≥14 mm/h.
During a follow-up period of up to 40 years, participants were followed up every 3-5 years to update the above relevant information.
The researchers statistically found that at the beginning of the study, all participants had an average of 2.9 cardiometabolic disease risk factors; from the age of 33 to 65, the risk factors for cardiometabolic disease increased to an average of 3.8, equivalent to an average increase of 0.8 per 10 years; and at the age of 65, the growth rate slowed, increasing by an average of 0.5 cardiovascular metabolic disease risk factors every 10 years. With the increase of risk factors, it means that cardiometabolic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes are more likely to occur.
After removing factors such as age and lifestyle, the researchers found that men with higher levels of neuroticism or anxiety were more likely to have one or more cardiometabolic risk factors at all ages.
Each increase in the neuroticism score was associated with a 13 percent increased risk of ≥ six cardiometabolic disease risk factors, and each increase in the anxiety score was associated with a 10 percent increase in the participants' risk factors for ≥ six cardiometabolic diseases.
Researchers analyzed that the impact of neuroticism and anxiety on cardiovascular metabolic health may be related to inflammation; at the same time, anxiety will also affect sleep health, making people feel irritable, thus harming cardiometabolic health; in addition, people with neuroticism and anxiety are also more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking, drinking, not loving sports, etc., which may also endanger cardiometabolic health. However, the relevant mechanism is not yet clear, and more research and exploration are needed.
Since the study was an observational study, it only showed that two aspects of anxiety— neuroticism and anxiety— were associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases and did not show a causal relationship; moreover, the study also had some limitations, such as the fact that all participants were male, may also have an impact on the results.
The researchers concluded by pointing out that factors such as depression and stress can damage heart health and increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. The study suggests that anxiety may also increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, adding evidence for an association between mental health and cardiovascular health. Anxious people "may experience a deterioration in cardiometabolic health early in life and remain in a high-risk state that persists into old age."
Professor Lewina O. Lee, corresponding author of the study and department of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, said: "Everyone will experience some anxiety in life, and people should learn to alleviate it; if anxiety increases, far beyond our tolerance, it will adversely affect our mental and physical health, and we should seek medical consultation and treatment in time to avoid harming physical and mental health." ”
"For anxious people, it is necessary to pay attention to changes in cardiometabolic health-related markers through physical examinations and other means, and take measures, such as taking medications and maintaining a healthy weight, to reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases," Professor Lee added.
For how to alleviate anxiety in daily life, the American Heart Association also provides some methods, hoping to help everyone.
Positive self-talk. Learning self-encouragement and cues in life, compared to negative self-suggestions such as "I can't do it well" or "I'm too stupid", positive self-encouragement such as "I can do it" and "everything will be fine" can help alleviate anxiety.
When you feel anxious, take a break and take a few slow deep breaths until your body relaxes a little and you're less nervous; or get up and walk around, even if it's a trip to the bathroom; listen to soothing music, or pet your pet, hug a loved one, or do something to help someone else.
Play with children or pets, preferably outdoors if possible.
Do some sports, such as walking, running or cycling in nature, or meditate and practice yoga.
Read a book, short story, or magazine.
Ask a friend for coffee or dinner.