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Cognitive ability and simple reaction time predict cardiac reactivity in the West of Scotland Twenty‐07 Study
Author(s) -
Ginty Annie T.,
Phillips Anna C.,
Der Geoff,
Deary Ian J.,
Carroll Douglas
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01164.x
Subject(s) - reactivity (psychology) , psychology , cognition , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , association (psychology) , heart rate , elementary cognitive task , blood pressure , developmental psychology , cardiology , audiology , medicine , psychiatry , alternative medicine , pathology , psychotherapist
Few studies have examined the association between cognitive ability and cardiovascular reactivity, although both have been implicated in later cardiovascular disease. We studied the relationship between cognitive ability, assessed using the Alice Heim‐4 test of general intelligence, simple reaction time, and subsequent cardiovascular reactivity in 409 55‐year‐olds. Blood pressure and heart rate reactions to an acute mental arithmetic task were measured 7 years after cognitive assessment. In regression models that adjusted for baseline cardiovascular activity, socio‐demographics, body mass index, medication status, and stress task performance, cognitive ability and reaction time were associated with future cardiac reactivity. Low reactivity was characteristic of those with relatively low cognitive ability. The results are consistent with the notion that high reactivity may not always be a maladaptive response.