Some physiologic antecedents of adult mental health

The authors report on 188 healthy college men followed biennially from age 19 years to age 63. A relatively low standing heart rate and long treadmill running time in college predicted mental--but not physical--health during the next 40 years, whereas a relatively low blood pressure predicted future physical--but not mental--health. These relationships remained significant when the effects of physical fitness and body build were partialled out, suggesting that psychological components of physiologic phenomena accounted for their prediction of mental health outcome. The authors speculate that a high resting heart rate reflected social anxiety and prolonged running time reflected perseverance and stoicism.