This study aimed to explore the prevalence and risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and psychological distress among female scientists and technicians in China. Accordingly, we included scientists and technicians from representative research institutions, medical institutions, colleges, universities, and businesses in China, and the data were collected from July 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021 via online questionnaires. The parameters evaluated in this study included age, sex, marital status, educational background, monthly income, sleep hours, sleep problems, smoking, alcohol consumption, work-related stress, work burnout, cardiovascular symptoms, CVD, family history, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. A total of 14 530 scientists and technicians were included, comprising 7144 men and 7386 women. We found 34.9% men and 16.6% women with CVD, 35.1% men and 21.4% women with depressive symptoms, 28.7% men and 13.8% women with anxiety symptoms, and 22.0% men and 9.5% women with CVD combined with depressive or anxiety symptoms. This study focused on the details of women. Younger women (age≤35 years) had the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms (24.9%), anxiety symptoms (16.2%), and comorbidity (11.2%). It was established that, despite traditional risk factors, unmanageable work burnout, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were associated with a higher risk of CVD in women; insomnia, overwhelming work stress, unmanageable work burnout, and CVD were linked to a higher risk of depressive symptoms and anxiety; insomnia, overwhelming work stress, and unmanageable work burnout were related to CVD combined with depressive or anxiety symptoms. A bidirectional relationship was noted between CVD and depression or anxiety in female scientists and technicians, and insomnia and overwhelming work stress were positively associated with comorbidity. It is suggested that effective measures should be taken to protect female scientists and technicians from CVD and psychological distress.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Depression/complications* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/epidemiology* ; Anxiety/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Psychological Distress ; Stress, Psychological/psychology*

BACKGROUND: Discrimination is a representative social determinant of health. Presenteeism is defined as presenting to work despite of illness and is an indicator of group health. We investigated the association of discrimination and presenteeism with cardiovascular disease using Korean data. METHODS: This study used the fourth Korea Working Conditions Survey (2014) data of 27,662 wage workers (employees). Presenteeism and discrimination related to age, sex, education, birth region, and employment type were ascertained. Self-reported cardiovascular disease was also assessed using the survey questionnaire. General and occupational characteristics found to be significant in univariate analyses were entered into a multivariate logistic regression analysis of the association of discrimination and presenteeism with cardiovascular disease. We also calculated the odds ratios of multiple discriminations and/or presenteeism for cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: In the univariate analyses, sex, age, education, monthly income, employment type, occupation, hours worked per week, workplace scale, and shift work were significantly associated with cardiovascular disease. A multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for general and occupational characteristics showed that discrimination and presenteeism were significantly associated with cardiovascular disease. Finally, the association with cardiovascular disease was strongest when both multiple discriminations and presenteeism were present. CONCLUSIONS: Discrimination and presenteeism are associated with cardiovascular disease, and this association was stronger in the presence of multiple types of discrimination and presenteeism.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education ; Employment ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Occupations ; Odds Ratio ; Parturition ; Presenteeism ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits

Antithrombotics are increasingly used for the management and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and endoscopists often have to decide whether to continue or stop these medications before endoscopy. The development of novel antithrombotics, such as direct oral anticoagulants, has complicated their management before endoscopy. Although the discontinuation of anticoagulants may decrease the incidence of bleeding after endoscopic procedures, discontinuation may also lead to more serious cardiovascular complications. Although the majority of current practice guidelines recommend continuation of antithrombotics before elective endoscopy and biopsy, surveys have shown that many endoscopists do not adhere to these guidelines, probably due to legal aspirations from post endoscopic bleeding. Thus, we examined the current guidelines for the management of antithrombotics before endoscopy.
Anticoagulants ; Aspirations (Psychology) ; Biopsy ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Endoscopy ; Hemorrhage ; Incidence

PURPOSE: This study was to identify factors explaining health empowerment of older adults with high-risk of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. METHODS: Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 148 older adults residing in two areas who have one or more of the following diseases; hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and atherosclerosis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: Health empowerment had a positive correlation with health literacy and social support. Perceived health status and social activity participation showed significant contribution in explaining health empowerment. CONCLUSION: This study showed that enhancing perceived health status and social activity participation are vital in an effort to improve health empowerment of the population. Main findings of this study can contribute to developing health empowerment interventions to improve health behavior practices of the older adults.
Adult* ; Aged ; Atherosclerosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Health Behavior ; Health Literacy ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Power (Psychology)*

PURPOSE: Soluble ST2 (sST2) is an emerging prognostic biomarker in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). A recent study showed that sST2 predicted incident hypertension. High sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been a widely-used biomarker for risk-stratifying in CVD. We compared the abilities of sST2 and hsCRP to predict high risk coronary artery calcium score (CACS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The CACS was assessed by cardiac computed tomography, and sST2 was measured in 456 subjects enrolled in the Mapo-gu community cohort. In accordance with the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines, we defined the high risk CACS group as individuals with a CACS ≥300 Agatston units (AU). RESULTS: There were 99 (21.7%) subjects with a CACS ≥300 AU. There was a strong correlation between log sST2 and log hsCRP (r=0.128, p=0.006), and both log sST2 and log hsCRP showed significant associations with CACS (r=0.101, p=0.031 for sST2, r=0.101, p=0.032 for hsCRP). In net reclassification improvement (NRI) analysis, the NRI for hsCRP over sST2 was significant [continuous NRI 0.238, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.001–0.474, integrated discrimination index (IDI) 0.022, p=0.035], while the NRI for sST2 over hsCRP was not significant (continuous NRI 0.212, 95% CI -0.255–0.453, IDI 0.002, p=0.269). CONCLUSION: sST2 does not improve net reclassification for predicting a high risk CACS. Using hsCRP provides superior discrimination and risk reclassification for coronary atherosclerosis, compared with sST2.
Atherosclerosis ; C-Reactive Protein* ; Calcium* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Hypertension

PURPOSE: The project was to test a structural equation model in which self-efficacy, self-care health behaviors, and modifiable risk factors predict the quality of life (QOL) of individuals with coronary artery disease. METHODS: The data set from the intervention study with 130 patients with coronary artery disease before the intervention was included in the secondary analysis for this study. The following parameters were measured: self-efficacy, self-care health behaviors with the subscales of health responsibility, exercise, consumption of a healthy diet, stress management, and smoking cessation; modifiable risk score; and QOL (assessed using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey instrument). RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 66.1 years. The following evaluation parameters indicated that the proposed model provided a good fit to the data: comparative fit index at .87, goodness of fit index at .91, adjusted goodness of fit index at .84, standardized root mean square residual at .06, root mean square error of estimation at .09, and confidence interval at 0.06-0.13. Self-efficacy, self-care health behaviors, and modifiable risk factors had significant effects on QOL and explained 64.0% of the variance, with modifiable risk factors mediating between self-care health behaviors and QOL. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that self-efficacy, self-care health behaviors, and modifiable risk factors play an important role in QOL in adults with coronary artery disease. Patients could be more confident in performing self-care health behaviors, leading to a better QOL, by more effectively managing their cardiovascular risk factors. Nursing strategies to improve QOL in this population should include motivating them to perform self-care health behaviors.
Adult ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology ; Coronary Artery Disease/psychology/*therapy ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Models, Theoretical ; *Quality of Life ; Risk Factors ; Self Care/*methods/psychology ; Self Efficacy

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to review the research trends and to identify developmental direction of studies on community interventions according to the ecological model for workers with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors. METHODS: Electronic databases including PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library and the reference lists of articles were searched. All articles were assessed in relation to inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 29 researches being reviewed. Each review was critically appraised by two authors using a guideline of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses). RESULTS: Nowadays, interventions in organizational level, integrated and web-based interventions are increasing to prevent CVD risk factors for workers. Even though the importance of psychosocial aspects to prevent CVD, the only 2 studies included psychosocial factors in the outcome variables. Also, 14% among 29 researches were based on theories. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial factors such as job stress, depression, and emotional labor could be CVD risk factors. Therefore, interventions including psychosocial aspects are needed to prevent workers' CVD risks more effectively. Theory-based interventions are needed to support interventions' effects and to develop the nursing science.
Cardiovascular Diseases* ; Depression ; Nursing ; Psychology ; Risk Factors*

PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to explore sex differences in the risk markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and psychosocial factors and the relationships among these variables for the community-residing adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 114 participants consisting of 65 men aged 42.85 years old and 49 women aged 46.86 years old. Participants were selected by a convenient sampling of at community cultural centers and churches. They completed a structured questionnaire including demographic characteristics, physiologic risk markers of CVD; lifestyle factors; and depression, social support, and stress. RESULTS: The male participants showed significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures than their counterparts. Significantly higher percent of women were currently non-smokers, and practiced moderate alcohol intake, physical activity, and low fat diet. Among women, the higher the scores of depression and stress were and the lower that of the social support was, the higher blood pressure, waist circumference and BMI were. Among men, those who were less depressed and with higher scores of social support had more physical activity. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest further studies to explore sex differences of CVD risk markers and psychosocial factors, and their relationships in a larger sample, and to find the mechanism underlying these differences with a prospective design.
Adult* ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Diet ; Female ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Prospective Studies ; Psychology* ; Risk Factors ; Sex Characteristics* ; Waist Circumference

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have reported an association of the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) 3123Cytosine/Adenine (3123C/A) polymorphism with essential hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the AT2R 3123C/A polymorphism affects blood pressure for free-living hypertensive men during a 5-month intervention period. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects were free-living hypertensive Japanese men aged 40 to 75 years who agreed to intervention in the period from 2004 to 2011. Detection of the AT2R 3123C/A polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction. The dietary intervention was designed to decrease salt level and to increase potassium level through cooking instructions and self-monitoring of the diet. The exercise session consisted of activities such as stretching, resistance training, and walking. Blood pressure, urinary sodium and potassium excretion, dietary and lifestyle data, and non-fasting venous blood sample were collected at baseline and after the intervention period. RESULTS: Thirty nine subjects were eligible for participation and the follow-up rate was 97.4%. The C allele proportion was 57.9%. AT2R 3123C/A polymorphism was X-chromosome-linked, therefore we analyzed the C and A genotypes. At baseline, no significant differences were observed between the genotype groups. After the intervention, there were no significant differences in lifestyle habit between the groups. Nevertheless, the estimated salt excretion (g/day) was significantly decreased only in the C genotype (13.0-10.3, P = 0.031). No significant change was observed in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (mmHg) in the A genotype, but a significant decrease was observed in the C genotype (150.0-141.5, P = 0.024). CONCLUSTIONS: In the C genotype, it might be easy to improve SBP through lifestyle intervention in free-living hypertensive Japanese men, however generalization could not be achieved by the small sample size.
Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Pressure* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cooking ; Diet ; Follow-Up Studies ; Generalization (Psychology) ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Life Style* ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Potassium ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2* ; Resistance Training ; Sample Size ; Sodium ; Walking

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: South Korean's sodium consumption level is more than twice the upper limit level suggested by the WHO. Steep increases in the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in Korea necessitate more effective sodium reduction programs. This study was conducted in order to compare sodium intake-related eating behaviors and key psychosocial factors according to age group and gender. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Using an online survey, a total of 1,564 adults (20-59 years old) considered to be geographically representative of South Korea were recruited and surveyed. The major outcomes were perceived behaviors, knowledge, intentions, and self-efficacy related to sodium intake. RESULTS: The results show that perceived behavior and level of self-efficacy related to low sodium consumption differed by age and gender. Female participants showed better behavior and intention towards low sodium intake than male counterparts. Young participants in their 20s showed the lowest intention to change their current sodium intake as well as lowest self-efficacy measures. CONCLUSIONS: Future sodium reduction interventions should be developed with tailored messages targeting different age and gender groups. Specifically, interventions can be planned and implemented at the college level or for workers in their early career to increase their intention and self-efficacy as a means of preventing future health complications associated with high sodium intake.
Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Intention ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Psychology ; Social Marketing ; Sodium*