From the Department of Psychiatry (Mausbach, Mills, Dimsdale, Ancoli-Israel, Patterson, Grant), University of California San Diego, La Jolla; Department of Psychology (Romero-Moreno, Losada), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology (Bos), San Diego State University/University of California San Diego; Department of Clinical Research (von Känel), University of Bern, Switzerland; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine (von Känel), Clinic Barmelweid, Switzerland; Departments of Medicine (Ziegler, Ancoli-Israel) and Family Medicine and Public Health (Allison, Mills), University of California San Diego, La Jolla; and Department of Biological and Health Psychology (Márquez-González), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
Psychosom Med. 2017 Sep;79(7):735-741. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000497.
Elevated blood pressure is a significant public health concern, particularly given its association with cardiovascular disease risk, including stroke. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer disease has been associated with physical health morbidity, including higher blood pressure. Engagement in adaptive coping strategies may help prevent blood pressure elevation in this population. This 5-year longitudinal study examined whether greater participation in pleasant leisure activities was associated with reduced blood pressure in caregivers.
Participants were 126 in-home spousal Alzheimer's caregivers (M [SD] age = 74.2 [7.9] years) that completed five yearly assessments. Linear mixed-effects models analysis was used to examine the longitudinal relationship between pleasant leisure activities and caregivers' blood pressure, after adjusting for demographic and health characteristics.
Greater engagement in pleasant leisure activities was associated with reduced mean arterial blood pressure (B = -0.08, SE = 0.04, p = .040). Follow-up analyses indicated that engagement in activities was significantly associated with reduced diastolic (B = -0.07, SE = 0.03, p = .030) but not systolic blood pressure (B = -0.10, SE = 0.06, p = .114). In addition, mean arterial blood pressure was significantly reduced when caregiving duties ended because of placement of care recipients in nursing homes (B = -3.10, SE = 1.11, p = .005) or death of the care recipient (B = -2.64, SE = 1.14, p = .021).
Greater engagement in pleasant leisure activities was associated with lowered caregivers' blood pressure over time. Participation in pleasant leisure activities may have cardiovascular health benefits for Alzheimer's caregivers.
高血压是一个重大的公共卫生问题，尤其是考虑到其与心血管疾病风险的关联，包括中风。照顾患有阿尔茨海默病的亲人与身体健康发病率有关，包括血压升高。参与适应性应对策略可能有助于预防该人群的血压升高。这项为期 5 年的纵向研究检验了更多参与愉快的休闲活动是否与照顾者的血压降低有关。
参与者为 126 名在家中照顾阿尔茨海默病配偶的照顾者（M [SD]年龄=74.2 [7.9]岁），他们完成了五次每年的评估。线性混合效应模型分析用于检验愉快的休闲活动与照顾者血压之间的纵向关系，调整了人口统计学和健康特征。
更多地参与愉快的休闲活动与平均动脉血压降低相关（B=-0.08，SE=0.04，p=0.040）。随访分析表明，参与活动与舒张压降低显著相关（B=-0.07，SE=0.03，p=0.030），但与收缩压降低无关（B=-0.10，SE=0.06，p=0.114）。此外，由于将护理对象安置在养老院（B=-3.10，SE=1.11，p=0.005）或护理对象死亡（B=-2.64，SE=1.14，p=0.021）而结束护理职责时，平均动脉血压显著降低。
随着时间的推移，更多地参与愉快的休闲活动与照顾者的血压降低有关。参与愉快的休闲活动可能对阿尔茨海默病照顾者的心血管健康有益。
