Dr. Jesse Stewart
Assistant Professor
Office: LD 100E
Phone: (317) 274-6761
Email: jstew@iupui.edu
1998 B.S. Psychology, University of Illinois
2000 M.S. Clinical Psychology, Ohio University
2003 Clinical Psychology Internship, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
2003 Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, Ohio University
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Current Research Interests:
My primary research area is cardiovascular behavioral medicine, a field concerned with relationships between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular health and disease. Within this area, my main interest is the effect of emotional factors on the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD), more commonly known as heart disease. It has long been hypothesized that negative emotions – such as depression, anxiety, and hostility/anger – may contribute to CAD. Consistent with this notion, prospective studies from the past 30 years have demonstrated that negative emotions predict future CAD among initially healthy individuals. Furthermore, the predictive value of negative emotions is similar to that of many traditional cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking).
Despite the long history of research on the mind-heart connection, several critical questions have not yet been answered. My program of research seeks to address the following four questions: (1) Which of the negative emotions is the most cardiotoxic? (2) Do positive emotions exert a cardioprotective effect? (3) What physiological or behavioral mechanisms account for the effect of emotional factors on cardiovascular health? (4) Does successful treatment of emotional factors reduce the risk of CAD? The conceptual framework guiding my research program is shown in Figure 1.
Three of my secondary research areas are cardiovascular psychophysiology, psychosocial/health behavior assessment, and the sleep-health relationship. Within cardiovascular psychophysiology, I am especially interested in heart rate variability, impedance cardiography, and stress-related cardiovascular reactivity and recovery, including the psychosocial correlates of these measures and their role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Regarding psychosocial/health behavior assessment, I have a particular interest in ecological momentary assessment methods, which provide real-time measures of psychosocial and behavioral factors by having persons repeatedly complete questionnaires on a palmtop computer (e.g., a smartphone). Finally, I have a growing interest in the association between poor sleep quality and cardiovascular risk, with a focus on whether insomnia treatment improves cardiovascular outcomes.
Due to the multidisciplinary nature of my research, I frequently collaborate with other health researchers, including faculty from the IU School of Medicine (www.medicine.iu.edu), IU School of Dentistry (www.iusd.iupui.edu), IU Center for Aging Research (medicine.iupui.edu/iucar), and the Roudebush VA Medical Center (www.indianapolis.va.gov).
Click here to listen to an interview with Dr. Stewart on WFYI Public Radio’s Sound Medicine.
Selected Publications:
Stewart, J. C., Rand, K. L., Muldoon, M. F., & Kamarck, T. W. (in press). A prospective evaluation of the directionality of the depression-inflammation relationship. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Stewart, J. C., Janicki-Deverts, D., Muldoon, M. F., & Kamarck, T. W. (2008). Depressive symptoms moderate the influence of hostility on serum interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70, 197-204.
Stewart, J.C., Janicki, D.L., Muldoon, M.F., Sutton-Tyrrell, K., & Kamarck, T.W. (2007). Negative emotions and 3-year progression of subclinical atherosclerosis. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 225-233.
Stewart, J.C., Janicki, J.L., & Kamarck, T.W. (2006). Cardiovascular reactivity to and recovery from psychological challenge as predictors of 3-year change in blood pressure. Health Psychology, 25, 111-118.