The Biological Impact of Adversity on Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Obesity

Most chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, develop over time and occur due to molecular mechanisms that develop or become repeatedly elicited. Over the course of time, individuals have different exposures that can influence these molecular mechanisms. Differences in influential exposures that occur along a social or economic gradient may be responsible for demographic variations in chronic disease and risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Exposures that can influence cellular and molecular mechanisms include negative life experiences, such as social isolation, discrimination, or resource-limited environmental conditions. Attention to such exposures in relation to cardiovascular health has received increasing attention over the past decade. Simultaneously, parallel attention has been given to the role of mechanisms that can explain the biopsychosocial connections in chronic disease. However, despite numerous studies demonstrating the relationship between psychological and social factors on inflammation and gene expression, important gaps in the evidence remain. For example, a variety of genes and/or genetic alterations have been implicated in the biologic consequences of adverse social and environmental conditions. Additionally, basic/translational research has improved our understanding of the impact of chronic stress-related biomarkers on cellular function, but often the direct connection of molecular signaling pathways and cardiovascular disease outcomes in epidemiologic cohort samples is missing. Ongoing research in this area is needed to elucidate the biologic consequences of adverse life events or the ‘Biology of Adversity’ to inform policy and develop multi-level interventions to improve population health and potentially reduce health inequities.

This Research Topic will feature new studies and review articles that advance our understanding of the ways in which experiencing psychosocial and environmental adversity and related life-course experiences can impact cardiovascular health outcomes, specifically cardiovascular pathophysiology and related risk factors, including obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. To this end, we encourage contributions that measure and describe adversity, as well as studies regarding stress and resiliency. This Special Issue is open to original research, review articles, short reports, methodological papers, and meta-analyses relating to biological mechanisms of adversity in cardiovascular disease risk.