Does perceived psychosocial stress associate with early subclinical myocardial changes on CMR differently in female versus male participants without overt cardiovascular disease?
Psychosocial stress is associated with early subclinical myocardial changes on CMR in women but not men, highlighting sex-specific pathways in stress-induced cardiovascular remodeling.
BACKGROUND: Psychosocial stress is linked to the development of cardiovascular disease, with a more pronounced impact in female participants. This study investigates sex differences in the association between perceived stress and myocardial tissue characteristics, as assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, and evaluates the contribution of psychosocial burden, including caregiving and perceived social standing. METHODS: This study included 219 participants (53.9% females; mean age, 54.4±11.0 years) without overt cardiovascular disease, drawn from a prospective repository. Participants completed the perceived stress scale and cardiovascular magnetic resonance with native T1 and T2 mappings. Psychosocial variables included family caregiving responsibilities and perceived emotional support. The study investigated associations between perceived stress scale scores, and native T1 and T2 mapping sequences and assessed sex differences and psychosocial burden. RESULTS: =0.035, respectively) but not in male participants. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial stress was associated with early subclinical myocardial changes in female participants but not in male participants, suggesting sex-specific pathways linking stress to early myocardial remodeling. These findings support the integration of psychosocial factors into cardiovascular risk assessment for female individuals.
Moukarzel et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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