NCT06860724

Linking Affective Dynamics in Response to Daily Stress to Peripheral Vascular Function in Working Age Adults

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 18 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Delaware · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 55 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The objective of this proposal is to determine whether heightened negative affective responsivity (NA-R) to daily stressors is related to blunted nitric oxide (NO)-mediated endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD) in working age adults and the extent to which this association is impacted by major depressive disorder (MDD).

Detailed description

Convincing evidence indicates that the deleterious impacts of psychosocial stress on emotional well-being and behavioral health are likely major contributors to excessive cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in middle-aged and younger adults. In line with this, heightened negative affective (i.e., emotional) responsivity (NA-R) to daily stressors predicts CVD morbidity and mortality. Importantly, NA-R to daily stressors-the naturally occurring but unexpected hassles and challenges that arise out of routine everyday life (e.g., argument with a partner, pressing work deadline)-is most pronounced in 'working age adults' (18-55 yrs). Unfortunately, these effects appear further compounded in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), an increasingly prevalent mood disorder whose core pathology is characterized by dysregulated affective dynamics. However, the physiological mechanisms linking dysregulated daily stress-related affective dynamics to poorer long-term cardiovascular health trajectories in working age adults remain incompletely understood. Our global hypothesis that affective dysregulation in response to daily stressors contributes to worsening endothelial health in working age adults, the effects of which are exacerbated in adults with MDD. Working age non-depressed healthy adults (HA) and adults with MDD (unmedicated) will participate. Multiple dynamic aspects of affective regulation and daily stress processes will be assessed during routine everyday life for 14 consecutive days (mobile app). On the days immediately before and after these ambulatory assessments, the mechanistic regulation of microvascular endothelial function will be assessed (in vivo; physiological and pharmacological approaches).

Conditions

• Major Depressive Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)	Acute local perfusion of L-NAME (15 mM) directly to the microvasculature will be used to inhibit NO synthase.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-01-06
• Primary completion: 2030-12-30
• Completion: 2031-12-01
• First posted: 2025-03-06
• Last updated: 2025-09-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States