Measuring Psychological Well-Being and Behaviors Using Smartphone-Based Digital Phenotyping: An Intensive Longitudinal Observational mHealth Pilot Study Embedded in a Prospective Cohort of Women.

Background: Intensive measures of well-being and behaviors in large epidemiologic cohorts have the potential to enhance health research in these areas. Yet, little is known regarding the feasibility of using mobile technology to collect intensive data in the "natural" environment in the context of ongoing large cohort studies.

Objective: We examined the feasibility of using smartphone digital phenotyping to collect highly resolved psychological and behavioral data from participants in a pilot study with participants in Nurses' Health Study II, a nationwide prospective cohort of women.

Broken Ties: Black Americans' Diminished Return of Socioeconomic Status on Subjective Well-being.

Minorities' Diminished Return (MDR) theory suggests systematically smaller effects of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators on the health of non-white populations compared to white in the United States (US). We test whether MDR theory holds with regard to subjective well-being (SWB) by investigating racial differences in the association between SES and SWB in the US using data from the Gallup Healthways survey. Our analysis included 126,669 non-Hispanic Black and white US adults.

Independent and Joint Associations of Key Social Exposome Components with Cognitive Aging: Triangulating Evidence Through Cross-National Data.

We examined the independent and joint associations of five key social exposome components, including financial strain, neighborhood disorder, perceived discrimination, social strain, and traumatic life events, with cognitive function levels and decline. Data were from adults aged > 50 in the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS; n=13,795; 2008-2020) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA; n=9,469; 2006-2019), and adults aged ≥ 65 in their Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) subsamples (HRS-HCAP: n=2,749; 2016; ELSA-HCAP: n=955; 2018). Using linear mixed-effects models and quantile-based g-computation, we found that all components, except traumatic life events, were associated with lower cognitive function.

Kind Kids, Healthy Teens: Child Prosociality and Fruit and Vegetable Intake.

Introduction: Prosocial behaviors (i.e., being kind, caring, and cooperative) are believed to shape health and well-being starting in childhood.

Experiences of Stalking and Obtaining a Restraining Order Are Associated With Onset of Cardiovascular Events in Women: A Prospective Analysis in the Nurses' Health Study II.

Background: Stalking is one of the most common forms of interpersonal violence, with nearly 1 in 3 women experiencing it in their lifetime. Restraining orders are a legal remedy aimed at protecting women who experience the most severe forms of stalking and interpersonal violence. Previous work has shown associations between experiences of violence and cardiovascular health among women, but little is known about the link between being stalked or obtaining a restraining order and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Optimism and Cognitive Functioning Trajectories in a Cohort of Aging Men.

Objectives: Robust evidence supports optimism as an asset for good physical and emotional health in aging populations, but its role in cognitive aging remains understudied. This study evaluated whether higher optimism levels would be prospectively associated with higher initial levels and slower decline in cognitive functioning over 26 years in a community-dwelling cohort of aging men.

Methods: Participants included 847 men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study who completed the Revised Optimism-Pessimism scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 in 1986 and ≥1 cognitive assessment repeated triennially in 1993-2019.

Plasma and ovarian metabolomic responses to chronic stress in female mice.

Introduction: Chronic stress has been linked with higher risk of ovarian cancer and one posited pathway is through altered metabolism of amino acids, lipids, and other small molecule metabolites. However, the types of alterations that occur may not be uniform across tissue types.

Objectives: We aim to examine and compare the impacts of chronic stress on metabolomic changes in circulation and ovarian tissue.

Emotion Regulation and Favorable Cardiovascular Health Among Women.

Objective: Emerging evidence suggests maladaptive (e.g., suppression) versus adaptive (e.

Physical Health Consequences of Vicarious Trauma: Prospective Relationship Between Hospital Patient Care Worker Vicarious Trauma Symptoms and Gastrointestinal Disorders.

Objective: Vicarious trauma (VT) is "secondhand" trauma healthcare workers experience when interacting with trauma survivors. The prospective relationship between workers' VT symptoms and physical health has not been studied.

Methods: Survey data from 775 hospital workers were linked to health insurance expenditures to identify stress-related conditions known as disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs) occurrence within 1-year follow-up.

Loneliness and cardiovascular disease incidence: two cohorts of older adults in the USA and South Korea.

Background: We investigated the relationship between loneliness and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older adults from the USA and South Korea. We conducted counterfactual mediation analyses to explore the potential mediation of this relationship by health behaviors.

Methods: We used the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; n = 13 073) from the USA and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA; n = 8311) from South Korea.

Psychological Distress and Cognitive Function in Women: Exploring Potential Mediation by Use of Opiates, Sleep Aids, or Minor Tranquilizers.

Distress, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, is associated with lower cognitive function and higher use of medications, including sleep aids, opiate pain relievers, and minor tranquilizers. Whether use of these medications is linked to lower cognitive function, and whether such medication use might partially explain the relationship between distress and cognition remains unclear. Using data from 10,653 women in the Nurses' Health Study II, we assessed associations between distress and past-month medication use; medication use and cognitive function; and whether medication use mediates the distress-cognitive function relationship.

When the glass is half full: early life experiences and adult optimism in 22 countries.

Little is known about early-life experiences that may lead to higher optimism levels in adulthood. Using data from 202,898 adults in 22 countries, we evaluated childhood candidate antecedents of optimism. We examined the associations between retrospectively reported childhood experiences and adult optimism levels in each country separately, and cross-nationally by pooling results across countries.

Demographic variation in charitable giving and helping across 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study.

Prosocial behaviors play a vital role in promoting individual and societal well-being. Charitable giving and helping strangers are two important expressions of prosociality; yet we know little about how these behaviors differ across sociodemographic indicators cross-nationally. Using data from the Global Flourishing Study, a diverse and international sample of 202,898 individuals across 22 countries, we examined distributions of charitable giving and helping (binary variables, yes/no) across nine demographic factors (age, gender, marital status, employment status, religious service attendance, education, immigration status, race and ethnicity, and religious affiliation) and culturally diverse countries.

Childhood predictors of charitable giving and helping across 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study.

While prior work documents the individual and societal benefits of prosocial behaviors, less is known about how childhood experiences shape prosociality in adulthood. Using data from the Global Flourishing Study, a diverse and international sample of 202,898 individuals across 22 countries, we examined associations between 11 candidate childhood predictors (i.e.

The distribution of optimism across sociodemographic groups in 22 countries.

Prior research (mainly from Western industrialized countries) documents associations between greater dispositional optimism (a generalized expectation that good things will happen) and improved health and well-being. However, less is known about whether and how levels of optimism differ across countries and across sociodemographic groups within different countries. This study presents a cross-national exploration of optimism, and its variations across sociodemographic groups.

COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Exposures and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged Women.

Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with risk factors for cognitive decline, such as bereavement and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objective: To examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related exposures are associated with cognitive function among middle-aged women.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study II, an ongoing study of registered nurses in the US.

Childhood prosocial behavior and body mass index: Longitudinal findings in the Millennium Cohort Study.

Objective: Childhood obesity affects millions worldwide but is challenging to treat. Prosocial or helping behavior may help mitigate childhood obesity. We investigated whether prosocial behavior at ages 5-11 was associated with body mass index (BMI) and reduced obesity risk through age 17.

Psychological resilience to trauma and longitudinal sleep outcomes among current and former nurses.

Objective: A life-disrupting stressor (e.g. pandemic) may cause or exacerbate poor sleep health; resilience may offset impacts.

Persistent PTSD symptoms are associated with plasma metabolic alterations relevant to long-term health: A metabolome-wide investigation in women.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by severe distress and associated with cardiometabolic diseases. Studies in military and clinical populations suggest that dysregulated metabolomic processes may be a key mechanism. Prior work identified and validated a metabolite-based distress score (MDS) linked with depression and anxiety and subsequent cardiometabolic diseases.

Are the ways women cope with stressors related to their health behaviors over time?

Objective: Emerging research suggests the use of certain strategies to cope with stressors relate to disease and mortality risk, and lifestyle habits may be underlying mechanisms. Studies show psychological symptoms (eg, anxiety) and states (eg, happiness) predict the likelihood of adopting an integrated lifestyle that encompasses key health-related behaviors, like smoking. Yet, whether psychological processes, including stress-related coping, influence the adoption of a healthy lifestyle is unknown.

Prosocial Intentions and Subsequent Cognitive Health: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: Prosociality, defined as positive other-regarding intentions and behaviors, is a modifiable factor demonstrated to be associated with better mental, physical, and cognitive health in older adults. Prior studies have largely focused on individual prosocial behaviors, especially volunteering. This study examines whether prosocial intentions are associated with maintaining cognitive health over time.

The Relationships Between Subjective Well-Being and Frailty: Staying With a Positive Mind, Stepping Away From Accelerated Aging.

Background: Subjective well-being (SWB) is a crucial measure of life quality in older adults. Understanding its relationship with frailty may inform strategies to promote healthy aging.

Methods: We analyzed data for older adults aged ≥60 years old from Waves 3 and 4 of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

Timing of depression in relation to risk of ovarian cancer.

Background: Several studies have suggested that depression may be associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer. Less is known about whether timing matters regarding when depression occurs. To provide evidence for an etiologically relevant exposure period, we examined depression occurring during the time in which precursor lesions develop and progress to invasive carcinoma with the risk of developing ovarian cancer.