Article Summaries for February–March 2026 Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, Volume 88, Issue 2

Perceived discrimination is a persistent social stressor linked to poorer health. Cuevas et al. reviewed 32 studies, finding that discrimination is associated with faster cell aging, altered gene activity in pathways related to inflammation and antiviral response, and changes in immune cell balance. These patterns suggest that discrimination may disrupt immune regulation over time. Most studies were cross-sectional and lacked diversity, highlighting the need for long-term research to clarify the cellular and molecular consequences of discrimination. Dr. Cuevas received the Herbert Weiner Early Career Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine; this Scientific Spotlight highlights his research. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001452 Residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities may confer risk for brain health. Marsland et al. examined the association of area-level disadvantage with volume of white matter hyperintensities (WMH), a biomarker of age-related brain pathology that predicts risk for dementia. Among mid-to-late life volunteers (n = 338), residing in a more disadvantaged community was associated with higher WMH burden, independently of individual socioeconomic status. Those living in the most disadvantaged communities showed an average of eight years of additional brain aging relative to those living in the most advantaged neighborhoods. These findings contribute to growing evidence that communities affect brain health. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001453 Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to stress. Slow breathing techniques have shown promise in adults for promoting mental health, yet well-controlled mechanistic evidence is lacking to recommend them for adolescents. The randomized controlled trial by Michels et al. tested whether a 10-minute resonant breathing exercise could reduce autonomic and affective stress reactivity in early adolescents (n = 150). The intervention increased parasympathetic activity during the exercise and showed modest benefits for sympathetic reactivity, but not for affect or recovery. Repeated training may be essential to reach the resonant rate. The pre-registration for this study is available at https://osf.io/8swdp. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001448 Acute stress paradigms are key tools for studying stress mechanisms, yet variations in body posture may influence results. In a randomized within-subject study, Kurz et al. compared stress responses between a sitting and standing Trier Social Stress Test and its control version (n = 104). Sitting decreased biological but not psychological stress responses compared with standing. However, these effects disappeared when considering responses in the control condition, implying that posture effects can be neglected in studies with a control condition but should be considered in studies with only the stress protocol. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001450 Stress and sleep are bidirectional, and exercise can buffer the effects of stress. Nicholls et al. used daily text messages to 155 adults to look at the daily relationship between stress during the day and sleep at night and found that, for those who exercise more, stress had less of an impact on sleep on the corresponding night. The results are a real-world example of the benefits of exercise in stress reduction. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001446 Arterial stiffness, an early marker of cardiovascular risk, can be measured by the speed at which blood travels through large arteries, i.e., pulse wave velocity (PWV). Short sleep duration has been implicated in cardiovascular risk and, in preliminary findings, with arterial stiffness (higher PWV). Sheriff et al. measured sleep and PWV in the homes of young African American adults (n = 68). PWV was inversely correlated with sleep duration, and the relationship was observed in men but not women. Further understanding the relationship between sleep duration and cardiovascular health could help shape public health interventions. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001455 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and many comorbidities. Krantz et al. evaluated whether comorbidities, sex, or age modify PTSD-related risk of hypertension or atherosclerotic CVD. Discrete-time survival analyses of medical record ICD codes compared all person-months with initial hypertension diagnosis (n = 49,656) to an equal-probability sample of control person-months. PTSD and comorbidities independently predicted hypertension and atherosclerotic CVD, and sex, age, and comorbidities modified PTSD-hypertension relationships. Preventive interventions should address both PTSD and comorbidities. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001442 Adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) face medical and social challenges that affect well-being. Ehmann et al. found that adaptive emotion regulation strategies (such as reappraisal and acceptance) were linked to higher life satisfaction and better mental and general health, whereas maladaptive strategies (like rumination and avoidance) were linked to poorer outcomes (n = 1,187). Fostering emotion regulation skills may enhance psychological adjustment and quality of life in individuals with CHD. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001451 Marital status is strongly associated with health and mortality worldwide; however, reviews on the topic call for a more contextualized reading of data. Ghulam et al. studied the relationship between marital status and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the aging Italian Moli-sani sample (n = 23,305). Single women and divorced/separated men had higher rates of mortality compared with their married/cohabiting counterparts. The results were contextualized in the lived experience of the study population, and mediation profiles were explored. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001454 Adverse birth outcomes exert long-term effects on infant health, and maternal inflammation is one key risk factor. In a longitudinal study (n = 217 parent dyads), Swaminathan et al. examined whether parental psychosocial resources like resilience can lower inflammation and thus improve birth outcomes. Among the married dyads only, paternal resilience predicted lower inflammation, which then predicted a longer gestational length. Paternal resilience, particularly in married couples, can be protective for maternal health. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001445 Hebi et al. examined the emotional experiences of pregnant women (n = 200) during the 2024 Iron Swords War in northern Israel. They found that women reporting more stress and difficulty coping with uncertainty were more likely to fear childbirth. Fear of childbirth was linked to increased rates of emergency cesarean delivery. These findings emphasize the need to address maternal psychological well-being as part of prenatal care, particularly in conflict settings. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001444