BACKGROUND: Psychosocial/emotional distress has been repeatedly found to be a correlate of the onset/aggravation of ischaemic heart disease. METHODS: Eighty-three patients (63 men and 20 women) with known coronary artery disease who entered an aggressive lifestyle modification programme were administered a clinical/demographic history and the Symptom Checklist 90--Revised at baseline. Several measures of social isolation/alienation (shyness/self-consciousness, feeling lonely, feeling abused and overall) were derived from the the Symptom Checklist 90--Revised. RESULTS: Univariate tests of the association of known cardiovascular risk factors and the Symptom Checklist 90--Revised scales with age at initial diagnosis yielded several significant results for history of hypercholesterolaemia (P = 0.018), history of hypertension (P = 0.030), somatization (P = 0.007), obsessive-compulsive (P = 0.009), depression (P = 0.006), anxiety (P = 0.021), hostility (P = 0.003), paranoia (P = 0.050), psychoticism (P = 0.029), the Global Severity Index (P = 0.007), the Positive Symptom Distress Index (P = 0.005), the Positive Symptom Total Score (P = 0.003) and feeling abused (P = 0.037). Only history of hypertension, history of hypercholesterolaemia and the hostility scale (overall F = 6.08 and P = 0.0009) emerged as unique correlates of age at initial diagnosis in a multiple regression using only the significant univariate predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial factors are sufficiently confounded with one another that they lose their predictive value once one is entered in the equation. High scores on the hostility scale were associated with a 5.7 year differential in age at initial diagnosis. The younger a patient is at initial diagnosis, the more likely he/she is to have high levels of emotional distress.
BACKGROUND: Psychosocial/emotional distress has been repeatedly found to be a correlate of the onset/aggravation of ischaemic heart disease. METHODS: Eighty-three patients (63 men and 20 women) with known coronary artery disease who entered an aggressive lifestyle modification programme were administered a clinical/demographic history and the Symptom Checklist 90--Revised at baseline. Several measures of social isolation/alienation (shyness/self-consciousness, feeling lonely, feeling abused and overall) were derived from the the Symptom Checklist 90--Revised. RESULTS: Univariate tests of the association of known cardiovascular risk factors and the Symptom Checklist 90--Revised scales with age at initial diagnosis yielded several significant results for history of hypercholesterolaemia (P = 0.018), history of hypertension (P = 0.030), somatization (P = 0.007), obsessive-compulsive (P = 0.009), depression (P = 0.006), anxiety (P = 0.021), hostility (P = 0.003), paranoia (P = 0.050), psychoticism (P = 0.029), the Global Severity Index (P = 0.007), the Positive Symptom Distress Index (P = 0.005), the Positive Symptom Total Score (P = 0.003) and feeling abused (P = 0.037). Only history of hypertension, history of hypercholesterolaemia and the hostility scale (overall F = 6.08 and P = 0.0009) emerged as unique correlates of age at initial diagnosis in a multiple regression using only the significant univariate predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial factors are sufficiently confounded with one another that they lose their predictive value once one is entered in the equation. High scores on the hostility scale were associated with a 5.7 year differential in age at initial diagnosis. The younger a patient is at initial diagnosis, the more likely he/she is to have high levels of emotional distress.
Authors: Gary T C Ko; Juliana C N Chan; Amy W Y Chan; Patrick T S Wong; Stanley S C Hui; Spencer D Y Tong; Ferrie Chow; Cecilia L W Chan Journal: Int J Behav Med Date: 2007
Authors: Mark W Ketterer; Johan Denollet; Jeanine Chapp; Steve Keteyian; A J Farha; Vivian Clark; Michael Hudson; Arif Hakim; Adam Greenbaum; John Schairer; J Jane Cao Journal: J Behav Med Date: 2004-02