Poor Mood Negatively Affects Young People's Heart Health
Mood issues can have negative effects on the heart health of young people.
Contrary to popular belief, being young is not necessarily a time to be carefree. This is a time when people are trying to put themselves through college and prepare for carving out their own path in life, which is becoming increasingly difficult in this economy. School loans and a tough job market pose challenges to college graduates. Add to those the personal stresses of family and intimate relationships, and the world can seem less like "your oyster" and more like a gauntlet.
This is a potentially worrying outlook for individuals who are prone to mood imbalances. And what's more, new research from the Emory University School of Medicine suggests that poor mood itself is associated with poor heart health in young people.
A team of scientists looked at data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-III. Specifically, the team examined information on more than 7,600 people aged 17 to 39 years, between 1988 and 1994.
Results showed that mood imbalances significantly increased a woman's risk of poor health related to cardiovascular concerns. For men, the impact was less but still significant. This link still held strong after the scientists controlled for lifestyle factors associated with mood issues, such as smoking and poor diet.
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These findings suggest that mood issues may influence heart concerns through physical mechanisms, such as lower heart rate variability and inflammation, as published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Research shows that a healthy heart needs 10 times more energy than the rest of the body. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is one nutrient that helps keep the heart strong, thereby supporting the rest of the body, including the brain.