Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume 68, Issue 2 , Pages 109-116 , February 2010

Hostility and physiological responses to laboratory stress in acute coronary syndrome patients

  • Lena Brydon

      Affiliations

    • Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, London, United Kingdom. Tel.: +44 207 679 5973; fax: +44 207 916 8542.
  • ,
  • Philip C. Strike

      Affiliations

    • Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Mimi R. Bhattacharyya

      Affiliations

    • Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Daisy L. Whitehead

      Affiliations

    • Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Jean McEwan

      Affiliations

    • Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Rayne Institute, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Ian Zachary

      Affiliations

    • Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Rayne Institute, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Andrew Steptoe

      Affiliations

    • Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom

Received 6 November 2008 ,Revised 7 April 2009 ,Accepted 9 June 2009.

References 

  1. Sheridan PJ, Crossman DC. Critical review of unstable angina and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Postgrad Med J. 2002;78:717–726
  2. Mittleman MA, Maclure M, Sherwood JB, Mulry RP, Tofler GH, Jacobs SC, et al. Triggering of acute myocardial infarction onset by episodes of anger. Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study Investigators. Circulation. 1995;92:1720–1725
  3. Mittleman MA, Maclure M, Nachnani M, Sherwood JB, Muller JE. Educational attainment, anger, and the risk of triggering myocardial infarction onset. The Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study Investigators. Arch Intern Med. 1997;157:769–775
  4. Moller J, Hallqvist J, Diderichsen F, Theorell T, Reuterwall C, Ahlbom A. Do episodes of anger trigger myocardial infarction? A case-crossover analysis in the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program (SHEEP). Psychosom Med. 1999;61:842–849
  5. Strike PC, Perkins-Porras L, Whitehead DL, McEwan J, Steptoe A. Triggering of acute coronary syndromes by physical exertion and anger: clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. Heart. 2006;92:1035–1040
  6. Cook WW, Medley DM. Proposed hostility and pharisaic virtue scales for the MMPI. J Appl Psychol. 1954;38:414–418
  7. Miller TQ, Smith TW, Turner CW, Guijarro ML, Hallet AJ. A meta-analytic review of research on hostility and physical health. Psychol Bull. 1996;119:322–348
  8. Everson SA, Kauhanen J, Kaplan GA, Goldberg DE, Julkunen J, Tuomilehto J, et al. Hostility and increased risk of mortality and acute myocardial infarction: the mediating role of behavioral risk factors. Am J Epidemiol. 1997;146:142–152
  9. Matthews KA, Gump BB, Harris KF, Haney TL, Barefoot JC. Hostile behaviors predict cardiovascular mortality among men enrolled in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Circulation. 2004;109:66–70
  10. Niaura R, Todaro JF, Stroud L, Spiro A, Ward KD, Weiss S. Hostility, the metabolic syndrome, and incident coronary heart disease. Health Psychol. 2002;21:588–593
  11. Chida Y, Steptoe A. The association of anger and hostility with future coronary heart disease: a meta-analytic review of prospective evidence. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53:936–946
  12. Hemingway H, Marmot M. Evidence based cardiology: psychosocial factors in the aetiology and prognosis of coronary heart disease. Systematic review of prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 1999;318:1460–1467
  13. Hansson GK. Inflammation, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:1685–1695
  14. Black PH, Garbutt LD. Stress, inflammation and cardiovascular disease. J Psychosom Res. 2002;52:1–23
  15. Steptoe A, Brydon L. Psychosocial factors and coronary heart disease: the role of psychoneuroimmunological processes. In:  Ader R editors. 4th ed.. Psychoneuroimmunology. Vol 2:San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press; 2007;p. 945–974
  16. Girod JP, Brotman DJ. Does altered glucocorticoid homeostasis increase cardiovascular risk?. Cardiovasc Res. 2004;64:217–226
  17. Steptoe A, Hamer M, Chida Y. The effects of acute psychological stress on circulating inflammatory factors in humans: a review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2007;21:901–912
  18. Smith TW, Glazer K, Ruiz JM, Gallo LC. Hostility, anger, aggressiveness, and coronary heart disease: an interpersonal perspective on personality, emotion, and health. J Pers. 2004;72:1217–1270
  19. Strike PC, Magid K, Whitehead DL, Brydon L, Bhattacharyya MR, Steptoe A. Pathophysiological processes underlying emotional triggering of acute cardiac events. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006;103:4322–4327
  20. Contrada RJ, Jussim L. What does the Cook-Medley hostility scale measure? In search of an adequate measurement model. J Appl Psychol. 1992;22:615–627
  21. Smith TW, Frohm KD. What's so unhealthy about hostility? Construct validity and psychosocial correlates of the Cook and Medley Ho scale. Health Psychol. 1985;4:503–520
  22. Zigmond AS, Snaith RP. The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1983;67:361–370
  23. Imholz BP, Langewouters GJ, van Montfrans GA, Parati G, van Goudoever J, Wesseling KH, et al. Feasibility of ambulatory, continuous 24-hour finger arterial pressure recording. Hypertension. 1993;21:65–73
  24. Hellhammer DH, Wust S, Kudielka BM. Salivary cortisol as a biomarker in stress research. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009;34:163–171
  25. Suarez EC, Kuhn CM, Schanberg SM, Williams RB, Zimmermann EA. Neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and emotional responses of hostile men: the role of interpersonal challenge. Psychosom Med. 1998;60:78–88
  26. Smith TW. Hostility and health: current status of a psychosomatic hypothesis. Health Psychol. 1992;11:139–150
  27. Brosschot JF, Thayer JF. Anger inhibition, cardiovascular recovery, and vagal function: a model of the link between hostility and cardiovascular disease. Ann Behav Med. 1998;20:326–332
  28. Suarez EC. Plasma interleukin-6 is associated with psychological coronary risk factors: moderation by use of multivitamin supplements. Brain Behav Immun. 2003;17:296–303
  29. Ranjit N, ez-Roux AV, Shea S, Cushman M, Seeman T, Jackson SA, et al. Psychosocial factors and inflammation in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:174–181
  30. Marsland AL, Prather AA, Petersen KL, Cohen S, Manuck SB. Antagonistic characteristics are positively associated with inflammatory markers independently of trait negative emotionality. Brain Behav Immun. 2008;22:753–761
  31. Sjogren E, Leanderson P, Kristenson M, Ernerudh J. Interleukin-6 levels in relation to psychosocial factors: studies on serum, saliva, and in vitro production by blood mononuclear cells. Brain Behav Immun. 2006;20:270–278
  32. Graham JE, Robles TF, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Malarkey WB, Bissell MG, Glaser R. Hostility and pain are related to inflammation in older adults. Brain Behav Immun. 2006;20:389–400
  33. Suarez EC. Joint effect of hostility and severity of depressive symptoms on plasma interleukin-6 concentration. Psychosom Med. 2003;65:523–527
  34. Stewart JC, Janicki-Deverts D, Muldoon MF, Kamarck TW. Depressive symptoms moderate the influence of hostility on serum interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein. Psychosom Med. 2008;70:197–204
  35. Miller GE, Freedland KE, Carney RM, Stetler CA, Banks WA. Cynical hostility, depressive symptoms, and the expression of inflammatory risk markers for coronary heart disease. J Behav Med. 2003;26:501–515
  36. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Loving TJ, Stowell JR, Malarkey WB, Lemeshow S, Dickinson SL, et al. Hostile marital interactions, proinflammatory cytokine production, and wound healing. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:1377–1384
  37. Suarez EC, Sherwood A, Hinderliter AL. Hostility and adrenergic receptor responsiveness: evidence of reduced beta-receptor responsiveness in high hostile men. J Psychosom Res. 1998;44:261–267
  38. Sherwood A, Hughes JW, Kuhn C, Hinderliter AL. Hostility is related to blunted beta-adrenergic receptor responsiveness among middle-aged women. Psychosom Med. 2004;66:507–513
  39. Ruiz JM, Uchino BN, Smith TW. Hostility and sex differences in the magnitude, duration, and determinants of heart rate response to forehead cold pressor: parasympathetic aspects of risk. Int J Psychophysiol. 2006;60:274–283
  40. Kunz-Ebrecht SR, Mohamed-Ali V, Feldman PJ, Kirschbaum C, Steptoe A. Cortisol responses to mild psychological stress are inversely associated with proinflammatory cytokines. Brain Behav Immun. 2003;17:373–383
  41. Treiber FA, Kamarck T, Schneiderman N, Sheffield D, Kapuku G, Taylor T. Cardiovascular reactivity and development of preclinical and clinical disease states. Psychosom Med. 2003;65:46–62
  42. Steptoe A, Marmot M. Impaired cardiovascular recovery following stress predicts 3-year increases in blood pressure. J Hypertens. 2005;23:529–536
  43. Strike PC, Steptoe A. Systematic review of mental stress-induced myocardial ischaemia. Eur Heart J. 2003;24:690–703
  44. Yudkin JS, Kumari M, Humphries SE, Mohamed-Ali V. Inflammation, obesity, stress and coronary heart disease: is interleukin-6 the link?. Atherosclerosis. 2000;148:209–214
  45. Biasucci LM, Vitelli A, Liuzzo G, Altamura S, Caligiuri G, Monaco C, et al. Elevated levels of interleukin-6 in unstable angina. Circulation. 1996;94:874–877
  46. Biasucci LM, Liuzzo G, Fantuzzi G, Caligiuri G, Rebuzzi AG, Ginnetti F, et al. Increasing levels of interleukin (IL)-1Ra and IL-6 during the first 2 days of hospitalization in unstable angina are associated with increased risk of in-hospital coronary events. Circulation. 1999;99:2079–2084
  47. Lindmark E, Diderholm E, Wallentin L, Siegbahn A. Relationship between interleukin 6 and mortality in patients with unstable coronary artery disease: effects of an early invasive or noninvasive strategy. JAMA. 2001;286:2107–2113
  48. Mills PJ, Dimsdale JE. Cardiovascular reactivity to psychosocial stressors. A review of the effects of beta-blockade. Psychosomatics. 1991;32:209–220
  49. von Kanel R, Kudielka BM, Metzenthin P, Helfricht S, Preckel D, Haeberli A, et al. Aspirin, but not propranolol, attenuates the acute stress-induced increase in circulating levels of interleukin-6: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Brain Behav Immun. 2008;22:150–157
  50. Kudielka BM, Fischer JE, Metzenthin P, Helfricht S, Preckel D, von Kanel R. No effect of 5-day treatment with acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) or the beta-blocker propranolol (Inderal) on free cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Neuropsychobiology. 2007;56:159–166
  51. Smith TW, Uchino BN, Berg CA, Florsheim P, Pearce G, Hawkins M, et al. Associations of self-reports versus spouse ratings of negative affectivity, dominance, and affiliation with coronary artery disease: where should we look and who should we ask when studying personality and health?. Health Psychol. 2008;27:676–684

 This research was funded by the British Heart Foundation.

PII: S0022-3999(09)00260-8

doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.06.007

Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume 68, Issue 2 , Pages 109-116 , February 2010