Negative Affect and Plasma Aldosterone in Working Adults

Objective: Previous research suggests that psychological stress and its correlates, such as heightened negative affect, are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. It has been suggested that activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) may be a mechanism linking stress and negative affect to risk for cardiovascular disease, but evidence in support of an association between negative affect and RAAS activity is inconsistent. The present study sought to test the hypothesis that individuals who report greater levels of negative affect would have heightened plasma aldosterone concentrations. Methods: Using pre-intervention baseline data from the RESET-BP trial, we examined the association between negative affect, measured by the Profile of Mood States and Short-Form 36 questionnaires, and plasma aldosterone in 193 adult men and women (aged 24-65 y, 55% female). Results: Correlational and linear regression analyses showed no evidence of an association between aldosterone and negative affect, with or without controlling for sex, age, BMI, education and race. Conclusions: Negative affect may not be related to concentrations of aldosterone and additional research is required to understand the psychological mediators of previously observed associations between mood related psychopathology and aldosterone.