Facets of Negative Affectivity and Blood Pressure in Middle-Aged Men.

Research results suggesting that facets of negative affectivity, i.e. anxiety, anger-hostility, and depression, relate to incident cardiovascular diseases have been steadily increasing. Evidence for depression has been especially extensive. Elevated blood pressure, a major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, is one probable mediator in this context. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship of specific key elements of depressive disposition, i.e. depressive symptoms, hopelessness and vital exhaustion, with health behavior and blood pressure. Study sample was comprised of 710 middle-aged men. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing health behavior, depressive symptoms, vital exhaustion and hopelessness. Statistical analyses involved descriptive analyses, correlations and path analysis. Depressive symptoms and vital exhaustion associated with several unfavorable lifestyles such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and inactivity (standardized solution coefficients: 0.10, 0.14, 0.17, accordingly). However, no significant direct associations with blood pressure could be found for depressive symptoms or vital exhaustion. Hopelessness associated only with unhealthy diet (standardized solution coefficient -0.10) Moreover, for hopelessness, results showed a direct but inverse association with systolic blood pressure (standardized solution coefficient -0.08). Results suggest that the previously reported relations of depression and vital exhaustion with blood pressure could be mediated by unfavorable lifestyles. The relation of hopelessness with adverse health behaviors seems to be less significant. Also, the role of hopelessness as a risk factor of elevated blood pressure is not supported by the results of this study.

Anger expression styles and blood pressure: evidence for different pathways.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate comparative models that could clarify the relationship between ways of anger expression and blood pressure (BP). It was hypothesized that the impact of the anger expression on BP is distinct for different styles of anger expression, including mediated effects through health behavior and overweight, and direct links to BP. METHODS: The study sample comprised of 705 middle-age men who participated in a trial aimed at preventing the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. BP was measured by study nurses. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing health behavior and anger expression styles. Statistical analyses involved descriptive analyses, correlations and path analysis. RESULTS: Individual measures of anger expression related differently with adverse lifestyle factors and also with SBP and DBP. The association of anger-in with elevated BP seems to be mediated by adverse lifestyles. For anger-control, we found statistically significant direct pathways to elevated BP but no significant links with lifestyles. Open expression of anger seems to have a beneficial direct effect on BP. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that among a sample of men, different ways of anger expression are linked to SBP and DBP through several direct or mediated pathways.

Sense of coherence relates with smoking.

The present study investigated the relationship between sense of coherence (SOC) and smoking. This study is a sub-study of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial. SOC was assessed with a short form self-report questionnaire at baseline and at two-year follow-up. Smoking behaviour was self-reported at both dates. The sample consisted of 841 hypertensive participants, (women 22.1%) at baseline, and 697 (women 23.0%) participants at the follow-up. At baseline the age range was 40-79. Results showed that smoking behaviour was associated with levels of SOC. Current-smokers had a lower mean of SOC. Gender had no statistically significant influence on these results.