Search

Background Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with increased risk for chronic inflammation and cardiometabolic disease at midlife. Purpose As it is presently unknown whether inflammation mediates the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and adulthood cardiometabolic risk, we investigated associations between retrospectively reported childhood SES, circulating levels of inflammatory markers, and a latent construct of cardiometabolic risk in midlife adults. Methods Participants were 1,359 healthy adults aged 30–54 (Adult Health and Behavior Iⅈ 52% women, 17% Black) who retrospectively reported childhood SES (parental education, occupational grade). Measures included plasma interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and cardiometabolic risk factors. Structural equation modeling was conducted, with cardiometabolic risk modeled as a second-order latent variable with adiposity, blood lipids, glucose control, and blood pressure as first-order components. Results Lower childhood SES was associated with greater risk for cardiometabolic disease at midlife (β = −0.08, CI[−0.04, −0.01], p = .01) in models adjusted for demographics, but this association was attenuated in models that adjusted for adulthood SES and health behaviors. In fully-adjusted models, the relationship between lower childhood SES and adult cardiometabolic risk was partially explained by higher circulating levels of CRP (β = −0.05, CI[−0.02, −0.01], p = .001), but not by IL-6. In an exploratory model, lower adulthood SES was also found to independently contribute to the association between childhood SES and adult cardiometabolic risk (β = −0.02, CI[−0.01, −0.001], p = .02). Conclusions The current study provides initial evidence that systemic inflammation may contribute to childhood socioeconomic disparities in cardiometabolic risk in midlife. Future work would benefit from prospective investigation of these relationships.

Study Objectives Sleep quantity and continuity vary across the lifespan. Actigraphy is a reliable and widely used behavioral measure of sleep in research and personal health monitoring. This meta-analysis provides a novel examination of whether age (in years) is associated with actigraphy-assessed sleep across the lifespan. Methods A systematic search of PubMed, Embase.com, Cochrane CENTRAL, and PsycINFO using “actigraphy” and “sleep” terms provided 7079 titles/abstracts; studies of individuals with known psychiatric or medical comorbidities were excluded. Ninety-one articles (N = 23 365) provided data for six meta-analyses examining sleep duration (k = 89), sleep efficiency (k = 58), bedtime (k = 19) and waketime (k = 9) for individuals ages 6–21, and bedtime (k = 7) and waketime (k = 7) for individuals ages 22 and older. Results At older ages, sleep duration was shorter (r = −0.12) and sleep efficiency was lower (r = −0.05). Older age was associated with later bedtime (r = 0.37) and wake-up time (r = 0.24) from ages 6–21, whereas older age was associated with earlier bedtime (r = −0.66) and wake-up time (r = −0.59) for ages 22 and above. The strength of these associations was modified by study continent, but not by any other moderator. Conclusions Age was negatively associated with actigraphy-assessed sleep duration and efficiency, but the effects were small in magnitude. On the other hand, large associations were observed between age and sleep timing, despite a smaller literature and the absence of analyzable data for ages 30–60. Changes in sleep timing, rather than changes in sleep duration or continuity, may better characterize the effects of age on human sleep.

Daily stress and hassles refers to quotidian adversity and the friction of moving through life. They have proved to be strongly associated with mental health, and serve as a proximal catalyst and outcome of symptomatology. Despite their intuitive and accessible nature, the constructs of daily hassles and stress pose several significant challenges in their conceptualization and measurement. This chapter reviews historical and contemporary approaches to measuring and assessing daily stress and hassles. Conceptual and definitional issues are covered, followed by three generations of daily stress assessment: cross-sectional, ambulatory assessment, and passive sensing. A selective summary is provided of research on daily stress as it relates to mental health.

The Five Factor Model (FFM) has risen to prominence over the past 50 years, and currently represents the most widely used structural model of personality attributes. By definition, the FFM is built upon a foundation of factor-analytic techniques. This chapter is divided into three parts. In the first, a methodological primer is provided for those who may be less familiar with factor analytic techniques. Second, the FFM and factor analysis are understood through a historical review, along with updated exemplars of contemporary techniques and applications to personality. Finally, several new directions in factor analytic research of the FFM are reviewed, including its application to psychiatric disorders.