RT journal article
T1 Associations of psychosocial factors with cardiovascular health in aging: insights from the Inlife-Aging Project
A1 Santotoribio, José Diego
A1 Martín Costa, Ivan Hoditx
A1 Martínez Sánchez, Laura María
A1 Mihaiescu Ion, Verónica
A1 Ortega Gómez, Sonia
A1 Morales Rojas, Javier Salvador
A1 Andrey Guerrero, José Luis
A1 Pedrosa Martínez, María José
A1 Valmisa Gómez de Lara, Eulalio Juan
A1 Santotoribio, Jose D.
A1 Jiménez Pavón, David
A1 Carbonell Baeza, Ana
A2 Didáctica de la Educación FísicaPlástica y Musical
A2 Enfermería y Fisioterapia
A2 Medicina
A2 Neurociencias
K1 Cross-sectional study
K1 Cardiovascular health
K1 Life’s essential 8
K1 Psychosocial factors
K1 Aging population
K1 Sex differences
AB Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) provides a multidimensional framework to assess cardiovascular health (CVH) in aging populations. The objective of this study was to describe LE8 component scores and their variation by age, sex, and psychosocial factors in middle-aged and older adults from Cádiz, Spain. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from 495 adults aged 50–79 years (59.4% women; 34.7% ≥ 65 years). LE8 scores were calculated following American Heart Association guidelines. Group comparisons used t-tests, ANOVA, and chi-square tests to explore differences across demographic and psychosocial variables. Age- and sex-adjusted linear regressions were fitted for CVH, health behaviors (HB), and health factors (HF). Most participants showed moderate CVH, HB, and HF scores (76.6%; 53.1%; 62.2%). Diet quality had the lowest mean (40.8 ± 31.7), while physical activity and sleep health were the highest (88.3 ± 30.6 and 85.0 ± 22.2). Middle-aged adults presented higher CVH and HF scores (mean differences [MD]: 2.5 ± 0.3; 7.8 ± 1.5), whereas older adults scored better in HB (MD: 2.8 ± 1.4). Women exhibited higher CVH, HB, and HF scores than men (MD: 3.6 ± 0.3; 2.8 ± 0.4; 4.4 ± 0.4), with middle-aged women showing the most favorable CVH profile (73.0 ± 10.5) and older men the least favorable (66.4 ± 11.0). Higher self-rated health (β = 0.240; R2 = 0.096) and educational attainment (β = 0.235; R2 = 0.090) were the strongest correlates of CVH (both P < 0.001). LE8 scoring revealed an intermediate CVH profile, with disparities by age, sex, and psychosocial context. Middle-aged women showed the most favorable profiles, while self-rated health and educational attainment emerged as key psychosocial markers for CVH assessment.
PB Springer Nature
SN 2509-2715
YR 2026
FD 2026-05-02
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39497
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39497
LA eng
NO Iván H. Martín-Costa is supported by a predoctoral contract for University Teaching Staff Training awarded by the Universidad de Cádiz under the competitive call UCA/REC64VPCT/2021.Veronica Mihaiescu-Ion is supported by a predoctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades), grant number FPU20/02497.Javier S. Morales is supported by a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (Grant RYC2023-045783-I) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF +), as well as by Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia 2023, ‘Acciones Hipatia para la Excelencia Investigadora’ (HIPATIA2023_03), from University of Almería.David Jiménez-Pavón is supported by the Biomedical Research Networking Centre on Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES) and FEDER funds from the European Union (CB16/10/00477), as well as by Red EXERNET-Red de Ejercicio Físico y Salud (RED2022-134800) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 09-may-2026