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Obsessional
Men Prone
to Heart Disease Death
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - People who exhibit traits of obsession
such as over-conscientiousness or excessive cleanliness may also
be more likely to die from ischemic heart disease, results of
a 20-year study suggest.
During the
study period, 127 individuals died of heart disease, according
to Dr. Andrew Haines of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine and his colleagues. These individuals were more likely
than survivors to have reported high levels of obsession and anxiety
symptoms at the beginning of the study, the authors report in
the March issue of the journal Heart.
For example,
individuals who rated their level of obsession as 8-9 on a scale
of 0-16 were almost three times as likely to die from heart disease
than their peers who rated themselves as 0-3. The association
remained even after the investigators took known risk factors
for heart disease death into consideration such as cholesterol
and blood pressure levels, cigarette smoking, and body mass.
Phobic anxieties,
such as fear of enclosed spaces or fear of heights, were associated
with death from heart disease only in the first 10 years of the
follow-up, the report indicates.
``We are not
sure of the mechanism of the associations although it is known
that emotions can affect the heart rate and cause constriction
of arteries which might affect blood flow to the heart in certain
circumstances,'' Haines told Reuters Health in an interview.
The authors
hypothesize, however, ``that men with high levels of obsessionality
or somatic symptoms of anxiety react to the pain and stress of
a coronary event in ways that increase their risk of dying.''
No women were
included in the analysis, however, so Haines is ``unable to say
whether the results apply to women. This would be a topic for
further study.''
Haines offers
some advice for the anxious and obsessive: ''there is an effective
psychological intervention for obsessional thoughts and for people
who have high levels of physical symptoms of anxiety--this is
cognitive behavior therapy and is widely used by clinical psychologists.
(While) we cannot be sure that this will prevent heart attacks
(since) no one has done a study for that purpose, but this type
of therapy can improve symptoms.''
Study participants
included about 1,400 white middle-aged males who had no prior
history of heart disease.
SOURCE:
Heart 2001;85:385-389.
Reference
Source 89
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