Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Ann Behav Med. 2023 Jan 2;57(1):74-85. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaab095.
Cardiovascular disease is a critical public health issue and a growing body of literature on relationships and health point to individuals' interactions and involvement with family members as significant correlates of cardiovascular outcomes. However, less is known about the implications of daily encounters with family members on cardiovascular health outcomes and how the associations vary across adulthood.
The aims of this study were to examine the associations of positive and negative daily experiences with family members with comprehensive measures of cardiovascular health and to further explore how age moderates these associations.
This study used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) II and MIDUS Refresher. The sample was composed of respondents who participated in two subprojects of MIDUS, namely the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) and Biomarker Project (N = 1,312). Indices of cardiovascular health included inflammatory markers, autonomic functioning, and Life's Simple 7 scores.
Results showed that the associations between daily family experiences and cardiovascular outcomes differed by age. Having more daily negative experiences with family members was associated with better cardiovascular health outcomes among young adults and worse cardiovascular outcomes among older adults. Having more daily positive experiences was also associated with lower heart rate variability for older adults.
Results revealed that contrary to the general assumption that negative experiences have health-damaging effects, frequent involvement with family members in daily life, even negative ones, may be indicative of active engagement in life that could be health promoting for younger adults.
心血管疾病是一个严重的公共卫生问题，越来越多的关于人际关系和健康的文献指出，个体与家庭成员的互动和参与是心血管结局的重要相关因素。然而，人们对家庭成员日常接触对心血管健康结果的影响以及这些关联在成年期如何变化知之甚少。
本研究旨在探讨与家庭成员的积极和消极日常经历与心血管健康综合指标的关联，并进一步探讨年龄如何调节这些关联。
本研究使用了来自美国中年研究（MIDUS）II 和 MIDUS 刷新的数据。样本由参与 MIDUS 两个子项目的受访者组成，即国家日常经历研究（NSDE）和生物标志物项目（N=1312）。心血管健康指数包括炎症标志物、自主功能和生活的 7 个简单指标。
结果表明，日常家庭经历与心血管结果之间的关联因年龄而异。与家庭成员有更多的日常消极经历与年轻成年人的心血管健康结果更好和老年成年人的心血管结果更差相关。与家庭成员有更多的日常积极经历也与老年成年人的心率变异性降低相关。
结果表明，与普遍认为消极经历会对健康造成损害的假设相反，日常生活中与家庭成员的频繁互动，即使是消极的互动，也可能表明年轻人积极参与生活，这可能对他们的健康有益。
