Toxic stress is associated with cardiovascular disease among younger but not older women in the United States: Results from the research goes red registry

Abstract

Introduction

Psychosocial stress may be an under-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease among younger women (ages 35–54 years).

Methods

Data was obtained from the Research Goes Red Registry, initiated in 2019, and included women from the United States. Women self-reported diagnoses of cardiovascular disease and experiences of toxic stress defined as a significant life-defining stressful activity over a prolonged period unaccompanied by sufficient social resources. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios between toxic stress and cardiovascular disease and differences by age (< 55 versus ≥ 55 years of age) using an interaction term.

Results

The analytic dataset included 1346 women. The mean age of women was 47.8 (SD: 12.6), 71 % were less than 55 years of age, 83 % were Non-Hispanic White, 59 % indicated that they had experienced toxic stress, and 12 % had cardiovascular disease. In final multivariable models, there were significant differences in the association between toxic stress and cardiovascular disease by age group (toxic stress-by-age interaction = 0.0412) such that toxic stress was only significantly associated with an increased odds of cardiovascular disease among women < 55 years of age (OR: 1.79; 95 % CI: 1.03, 3.11) but not older women ≥ 55 years of age (OR: 0.82; 95 % CI: 0.49, 1.39).

Conclusion

Toxic stress was associated with an increased odds of cardiovascular disease among younger, but not older women in this cross-sectional study. Stress may be an under-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease, especially among younger women who may benefit from interventions to mitigate and prevent stress.