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Health Expectations : An International... Feb 2022Growing evidence suggests a role of lifestyle modification in improved health outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS); however, perspectives of pwMS who...
BACKGROUND
Growing evidence suggests a role of lifestyle modification in improved health outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS); however, perspectives of pwMS who engage in lifestyle modification are lacking.
OBJECTIVE
We explored perspectives of pwMS regarding the modification of lifestyle-related risk factors in multiple sclerosis (MS) for disease management to understand attitudes to and experiences of lifestyle modification as part of self-management from a patient perspective.
DESIGN
Participants were ≥18 years and English speaking who responded to a free-text open-ended question in the Health Outcomes and Lifestyle In a Sample of pwMS (HOLISM), an international online survey. Responses were analysed utilizing inductive thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Under the exploration of lifestyle modification, themes describing the experiences and attitudes of participants included practical challenges and physical and psychological barriers, enablers of change and experienced outcomes. Although participants reported some practical and psychological challenges to adoption and maintenance of lifestyle behaviours, many expressed an ability to gain control of MS through engagement with lifestyle behaviours and the development of hope and optimism that accompanied this sense of control, at times leading to a sense of personal transformation.
CONCLUSION
Findings highlight the challenges experienced by pwMS in adopting lifestyle modifications for disease management as well as the positive benefits from following healthy lifestyle behaviours. Our findings may form the basis of more focussed qualitative explorations of the experiences and outcomes of lifestyle modification in MS in the future.
PATIENT CONTRIBUTION
Consenting pwMS completed a survey capturing data on demographics, clinical course, lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes.
Topics: Behavior Therapy; Humans; Life Style; Multiple Sclerosis; Optimism; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34599857
DOI: 10.1111/hex.13364 -
The Journal of Medical Humanities Mar 2021Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011) positions the vaccine as the end point of the arc of pandemic, marking both the containment of an elusive virus and the...
Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011) positions the vaccine as the end point of the arc of pandemic, marking both the containment of an elusive virus and the resumption of a life not fundamentally different from before the disease outbreak. The film reinforces the assumption that a pandemic will awaken all of us to the urgency of vaccination, persuading us to put aside our reservations and anxieties and the idea that compliance is the inevitable outcome of quarantine. This article explores how pro-vaccination cultural products such as Contagion might in fact undermine public health efforts by promoting a false narrative, which simplifies the kind of vaccination campaign necessary for herd immunity to develop. An ethic of sacrifice and selflessness drives the public health messaging of the film but leaves intact certain individualistic tropes and plague narrative scapegoating tendencies, while the framing of the vaccine as "gift" takes it out of the realm of medical science altogether.
Topics: COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Communicable Disease Control; Humans; Optimism; Population Health; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination
PubMed: 33587203
DOI: 10.1007/s10912-021-09677-3 -
American Journal of Epidemiology Jun 2019Mounting evidence indicates that there are specific associations between higher levels of optimism and healthier behaviors, reduced risk of chronic diseases, and lower...
Mounting evidence indicates that there are specific associations between higher levels of optimism and healthier behaviors, reduced risk of chronic diseases, and lower mortality. Yet, for public health purposes, it is critical to consider how optimism might be related to a full scope of health conditions in aging-from cognitive to physical health. Using prospective data from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 5,698), we examined whether higher baseline optimism was associated with subsequent increased likelihood of maintaining healthy aging over 6-8 years of follow-up. Optimism was assessed at study baseline (2006 or 2008), and components of healthy aging were assessed every 2 years, defined as: 1) remaining free of major chronic diseases; 2) having no cognitive impairment; and 3) good physical functioning. Hazard ratios were obtained using Cox proportional hazards models, and a range of relevant covariates were considered (sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, and health behaviors). After adjusting for sociodemographic factors and depression, the most (top quartile) versus least (bottom quartile) optimistic participants had a 24% increased likelihood of maintaining healthy aging (95% CI: 1.11, 1.38). Further adjustment for health behaviors did not meaningfully change the findings. Optimism, a potentially modifiable health asset, merits further research for its potential to improve likelihood of health in aging.
Topics: Aged; Chronic Disease; Cognitive Dysfunction; Female; Health Behavior; Healthy Aging; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Optimism; Physical Functional Performance; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Socioeconomic Factors
PubMed: 30834429
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwz056 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2016The increasing interest about dispositional optimism's role in health status and its positive modulating effect on health outcomes has led to a remarkable scientific... (Review)
Review
The increasing interest about dispositional optimism's role in health status and its positive modulating effect on health outcomes has led to a remarkable scientific production in the last decade. To date lot is known for which diseases optimism is relevant, instead much less is known about how optimism interacts with other factors, both biological and psychological, in determining health status. The aim of this mini review is to explore the literature derived from clinical and experimental research assessing the associations between dispositional optimism and health status. Dispositional optimism can be considered as facet of personality that is cognitive in nature which holds the global expectation that the future will be plenty of good events. Optimists view desired goals as obtainable, so they often confront adversities in active manners resulting in perseverance and increased goal attainment. Only studies that explicitly included optimism and health outcomes, as measurable variables, and that reported a clear association between them have been reviewed. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory failure, and aging with multimorbidity were considered. Among the possible explicative hypotheses, two seem to best describe results: optimism may have a direct effect on the neuroendocrine system and on immune responses, and it may have an indirect effect on health outcomes by promoting protective health behaviors, adaptive coping strategies and enhancing positive mood. The research on optimism and health status has already shed light on important mechanisms regarding chronic diseases' management, however, further studies are needed to deepen the knowledge.
PubMed: 26973582
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00295 -
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Mar 2022Optimism is associated with better cardiovascular health, yet little is known about the underlying mechanisms and whether protective relationships are consistently...
INTRODUCTION
Optimism is associated with better cardiovascular health, yet little is known about the underlying mechanisms and whether protective relationships are consistently observed across diverse groups. This study examines optimism's association with lipid profiles over time and separately among Black and White men and women.
METHODS
Data were from 3,206 middle-aged adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Optimism was measured in 2000-2001 using the Revised Life Orientation Test. Triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol measurements were obtained at 5-year intervals through 2015-2016. Linear mixed models evaluated relationships between optimism and lipids, adjusting for covariates, including prebaseline lipids. Subgroup differences were examined using interaction terms and stratification. All analyses were conducted in 2020.
RESULTS
Higher optimism was associated with both lower baseline total cholesterol (β= -2.33, 95% CI= -4.31, -0.36) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (β= -1.93, 95% CI= -3.65, -0.21) and a more rapid incremental increase in both markers over time (total cholesterol: β=0.09, 95% CI=0.00, 0.18; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol: β=0.09, 95% CI=0.01, 0.16). No associations were apparent with baseline triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or changes in either lipid over time. Tests for interaction only found evidence of heterogeneous associations with baseline triglyceride levels, but stratified models hinted at stronger protective associations with baseline levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol among White women.
CONCLUSIONS
Optimism may help diverse individuals establish healthy total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels before midlife. Although associations were largely consistent across subgroups, stronger associations among White men and White women highlight a need to study optimism's health impact in diverse samples.
Topics: Black People; Cholesterol, HDL; Cholesterol, LDL; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Optimism; Risk Factors; Triglycerides; White People; Young Adult
PubMed: 35067361
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.09.011 -
The American Journal of Medicine Jul 2022
Topics: Antiviral Agents; COVID-19; Humans; Optimism; Vaccines
PubMed: 35307362
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2022.02.041 -
The American Psychologist Dec 2018Dispositional optimism is the generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains. This article provides a representative... (Review)
Review
Dispositional optimism is the generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains. This article provides a representative review of 30 years of research on dispositional optimism and physical well-being. Assessment of optimism is described, along with data regarding its stability. A review of the research linking optimism and physical health is then presented. Included in the review are initial studies suggesting that optimism and physical well-being might be linked as well as more recent, larger scale epidemiological studies that make the point more emphatically. Also considered are potential pathways-behavioral, biological, and social-that might explain these associations. The article concludes with a brief look to the future, describing several issues and questions that still need to be answered. These questions include the relationship of optimism and pessimism to each other (and the implications of that relationship for physical well-being), the origins of optimism and pessimism, and interventions that might be implemented to reduce the negative impact of a pessimistic outlook. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Attitude to Health; Health; Health Behavior; Humans; Optimism; Personality
PubMed: 30525784
DOI: 10.1037/amp0000384 -
Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a... Feb 2020Pain interferes with people's daily lives and often limits the extent to which they can pursue goals and engage in activities that promote well-being. However, people...
BACKGROUND
Pain interferes with people's daily lives and often limits the extent to which they can pursue goals and engage in activities that promote well-being. However, people vary in how much interference they experience at a given level of pain.
PURPOSE
The present study tested how optimism affects and is affected by pain interference and goal-directed activity among older women.
METHODS
Every 3 months for 2 years, community-dwelling middle- and older-age women (N = 199) completed online daily diaries at home for a 7 day period, in which they reported their daily pain, pain interference, and goal-directed activity. Optimism was measured at the start and end of the study. Multilevel models tested the between- and within-person relationships among pain, optimism, and pain interference or goal-directed activity. Linear regression predicted change in optimism over 2 years from pain interference and goal-directed activity.
RESULTS
Pain best predicted pain interference and optimism best predicted goal-directed activity. There were subtle interactions between optimism and pain-predicting interference and goal-directed activity. Accumulated goal-directed activity and pain interference across the study predicted longitudinal changes in optimism, with higher activity and lower pain interference predicting increased optimism over 2 years.
CONCLUSIONS
Optimism may play a protective role in disruptions caused by pain on a day-to-day basis, leading to increased goal-directed activity and possibly decreased pain interference. In turn, less interference and more goal-directed activity feed forward into increased optimism, resulting in a virtuous cycle that enhances optimism and well-being among older women.
Topics: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aging; Female; Goals; Humans; Independent Living; Longitudinal Studies; Middle Aged; Optimism; Pain; Psychometrics; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31634392
DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaz040 -
Experimental Neurobiology Sep 2013Our survival and wellness require a balance between optimism and pessimism. Undue pessimism makes life miserable; however, excessive optimism can lead to dangerously... (Review)
Review
Our survival and wellness require a balance between optimism and pessimism. Undue pessimism makes life miserable; however, excessive optimism can lead to dangerously risky behaviors. A review and synthesis of the literature on the neurophysiology subserving these two worldviews suggests that optimism and pessimism are differentially associated with the two cerebral hemispheres. High self-esteem, a cheerful attitude that tends to look at the positive aspects of a given situation, as well as an optimistic belief in a bright future are associated with physiological activity in the left-hemisphere (LH). In contrast, a gloomy viewpoint, an inclination to focus on the negative part and exaggerate its significance, low self-esteem as well as a pessimistic view on what the future holds are interlinked with neurophysiological processes in the right-hemisphere (RH). This hemispheric asymmetry in mediating optimistic and pessimistic outlooks is rooted in several biological and functional differences between the two hemispheres. The RH mediation of a watchful and inhibitive mode weaves a sense of insecurity that generates and supports pessimistic thought patterns. Conversely, the LH mediation of an active mode and the positive feedback it receives through its motor dexterity breed a sense of confidence in one's ability to manage life's challenges, and optimism about the future.
PubMed: 24167413
DOI: 10.5607/en.2013.22.3.173 -
Preventive Medicine Jan 2022Optimism is associated with reduced mortality risk among Whites, but evidence for this relationship is limited among African-Americans, whose life expectancy is shorter...
Optimism is associated with reduced mortality risk among Whites, but evidence for this relationship is limited among African-Americans, whose life expectancy is shorter than Whites. This study examined the association between optimism and mortality rate in African-Americans. Data were from African-American women (n = 2652) and men (n = 1444) in the United States from the Jackson Heart Study. Optimism was measured using the Life Orientation Test-Revised at the baseline period (2000-2004), and mortality data were obtained until 2018. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality by optimism level, controlling for sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, health conditions, and health behaviors. In secondary analyses, we evaluated potential effect modification by sex, age, income, and education. Higher optimism was related to lower mortality rates (HR = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74, 0.99), controlling for sociodemographic factors and depressive symptoms. After further adjusting for health conditions and health behaviors, associations were slightly attenuated (HR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.77, 1.02). Stronger associations between optimism and mortality were observed in men, among those with higher income or education, and with age ≤ 55 (all p's for interaction terms <0.06). In summary, optimism was associated with lower mortality rates among African-Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. Effect modification by sociodemographic factors should be further explored in additional research considering optimism and mortality in diverse populations. Positive factors, such as optimism, may provide important health assets that can complement ongoing public health efforts to reduce health disparities, which have traditionally focused primarily on risk factors.
Topics: Black or African American; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Optimism; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Factors; United States; White People
PubMed: 34863812
DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106899