Coronary artery disease: a sociocultural perspective.

A sociocultural perspective on biobehavioral factors is important both for studies of the cause of coronary heart disease and for efforts to prevent the disease. One-to-one programs are limited because coronary heart disease is so prevalent and because people have great difficulty in changing their behavior to lower their risk. Data are now available regarding several psychosocial risk factors that shed light on possible environmental influences. These factors include social mobility, stressful life events, type A behavior, and social support. These factors are now being studied in bus drivers to illustrate the ways in which sociocultural interventions can be developed to prevent disease.