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Adolescent psychological well-being and adulthood cardiovascular disease risk: longitudinal association and implications for care quality management

Sharan Srinivas (Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA) (Marketing, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA)
Kavin Anand (Computer Science, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA)
Anand Chockalingam (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA) (Cardiology Section, Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, Missouri, USA)

Benchmarking: An International Journal

ISSN: 1463-5771

Article publication date: 20 December 2021

Issue publication date: 29 November 2022

231

Abstract

Purpose

Prior research suggests that 80% of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events can be prevented by modifying certain behaviors, yet it remains the primary cause of mortality worldwide. Early detection and management of critical modifiable factors have the potential to improve cardiovascular care quality as well as the associated health outcomes. This study aims to assess the independent impact of psychological well-being in adolescence, a modifiable factor, on long-term CVD risk and promote targeted early interventions through quality management principles.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from the Add Health study, which employed a series of surveys and health tests (Wave 1 – Wave 4) on individuals for 14 years (from adolescence to adulthood), were obtained and analyzed longitudinally. Psychological well-being in adolescence was assessed using four Wave 1 survey questions, and 30-year CVD risk was estimated 14 years later with Wave 4 data. Three different logistic regression models were examined to understand the impact of adding covariates.

Findings

This study’s sample included 12,116 individuals who responded to all the relevant questions and underwent clinical risk factor measurements in Wave 1 (adolescence) and Wave 4 (young adulthood). Psychological well-being was protective with reduced risk for CVD across the three models tested. There is a statistically significant association, where increasing psychological well-being reduced the 30-year CVD risk exponentially in all the models. The analysis also suggested an exposure–response relationship, where the 30-year risk category of adulthood CVD decreased with an increase in psychological well-being.

Practical implications

This research uncovers an inverse association between adolescent psychological well-being and adulthood CVD risk. This study also identifies quality management-based preventive tools/techniques to improve psychological well-being in adolescence and therefore reduce CVD risk later in life.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to establish a long-term association between positive well-being and CVD risk. Also, unlike the existing literature, this work provides implications for improving CVD care from a quality management perspective.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback. The authors would also like to thank the editorial team for their prompt and professional handling of the manuscript and Mr. Surya Ramachandiran for his valuable assistance. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Information on how to obtain the Add Health data files is available on the Add Health website (http://www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth). No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.

Citation

Srinivas, S., Anand, K. and Chockalingam, A. (2022), "Adolescent psychological well-being and adulthood cardiovascular disease risk: longitudinal association and implications for care quality management", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 29 No. 10, pp. 3163-3175. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-06-2021-0369

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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