Habits of Nervous Tension and Premature Mortality in Johns Hopkins Medical School Graduates
Title
Habits of Nervous Tension and Premature Mortality in Johns Hopkins Medical School Graduates
Creator
Bucci D; Gross A
Publisher
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Date
2019
2019-04
Description
D137 Student Presentation at the American Geriatrics Society 2019 Annual Meeting
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BACKGROUND Psychosocial habits in mid-early life have been shown to affect mortality in later life. Negative responses to stress in people who have stressful careers can have a negative impact on quality of life decades later. A previous study demonstrated that a higher Habits of Nervous Tension (HNT) score correlated to a higher likelihood of suicide among a medical school graduate cohort. It was also found that irritability (RR= 5.5; 95% CI 1.76;17.17) and urinary frequency (RR=3.3; 95% CI 1.07;10.32) were the highest predictors of suicide. Our purpose was to re-evaluate this association using 20 years of additional follow-up in the study and encompassing overall mortality. METHODS The Johns Hopkins Precursors Study is an ongoing cohort study of medical school graduates. Participants attended Johns Hopkins medical school between the years 1946-1964 (n=1,337) and completed the HNT questionnaire while in medical school, and psychosocial habits are annually recorded through mailed questionnaires. Mortality was recorded by access of public records for death certificates. Parametric survival analyses of HNT scores comprised of 25 questions associated with age of death. RESULTS N=1,337 participants contributed 75,069 person-years to the analysis. An overall higher HNT score is not associated with increased mortality (HR=.99; 95% CI .9533;1.03). However, when reporting individual questions of the HNT scale, individuals who reported more exhaustion (HR=.64; 95% CI .46;.89) or tremulousness (HR=.75; 95% CI .57;.99) had shorter lifespan, whereas individuals reporting philosophic effort (HR=1.46; 95% CI 1.05;2.04) were more likely to live longer. CONCLUSION Findings from our study suggest that exhaustion and philosophic effort may be a stress coping mechanism that reduces risk of premature death, whereas tremulousness and exhaustion was associated with a higher chance.
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BACKGROUND Psychosocial habits in mid-early life have been shown to affect mortality in later life. Negative responses to stress in people who have stressful careers can have a negative impact on quality of life decades later. A previous study demonstrated that a higher Habits of Nervous Tension (HNT) score correlated to a higher likelihood of suicide among a medical school graduate cohort. It was also found that irritability (RR= 5.5; 95% CI 1.76;17.17) and urinary frequency (RR=3.3; 95% CI 1.07;10.32) were the highest predictors of suicide. Our purpose was to re-evaluate this association using 20 years of additional follow-up in the study and encompassing overall mortality. METHODS The Johns Hopkins Precursors Study is an ongoing cohort study of medical school graduates. Participants attended Johns Hopkins medical school between the years 1946-1964 (n=1,337) and completed the HNT questionnaire while in medical school, and psychosocial habits are annually recorded through mailed questionnaires. Mortality was recorded by access of public records for death certificates. Parametric survival analyses of HNT scores comprised of 25 questions associated with age of death. RESULTS N=1,337 participants contributed 75,069 person-years to the analysis. An overall higher HNT score is not associated with increased mortality (HR=.99; 95% CI .9533;1.03). However, when reporting individual questions of the HNT scale, individuals who reported more exhaustion (HR=.64; 95% CI .46;.89) or tremulousness (HR=.75; 95% CI .57;.99) had shorter lifespan, whereas individuals reporting philosophic effort (HR=1.46; 95% CI 1.05;2.04) were more likely to live longer. CONCLUSION Findings from our study suggest that exhaustion and philosophic effort may be a stress coping mechanism that reduces risk of premature death, whereas tremulousness and exhaustion was associated with a higher chance.
Subject
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Identifier
Rights
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URL Address
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Pages
S304–S304
Volume
67
ISSN
0002-8614
Citation
Bucci D; Gross A, “Habits of Nervous Tension and Premature Mortality in Johns Hopkins Medical School Graduates,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed April 19, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/6420.