Social psychophysiology, social circumstances, and health.

Health varies markedly with social circumstances. While we are still without a comprehensive account of the mechanisms which underlie this variation, it is clear that psychological factors are involved and that key pathways may prove to be psychophysiological. Thus, social psychophysiological research of the kind illustrated in this Special Issue is ideally placed to help unravel some of the mechanisms by which social circumstances impact on health.

Comparison of perception of angina pectoris during exercise testing in African-Americans versus Caucasians.

In a sample of 142 patients with positive treadmill test results, we found that African-Americans reported anginal pain during exercise at nearly twice the rate of Caucasians, and had a significantly shorter time to angina. The mechanisms for these race differences remain to be elucidated, but may include underlying physiologic responses, ethnocultural differences, psychological state, socioeconomic differences, and experimenter bias.

Differential occurrence of mutations in mitochondrial DNA of human skeletal muscle during aging.

Seven mtDNA mutations (five base substitutions and two deletions) were studied in skeletal muscle samples of 18 human subjects aged 1 hr to 90 years. Quantitative PCR procedures were applied to determine the incidence (frequency of occurrence) and abundance (percentage of mutant mtDNA out of total mtDNA). The base substitutions, in general, showed a very early onset, three such mutations being detectable in the muscles of infants aged 1 hr and 5 weeks.

The effects of blood pressure resting level and lability on cardiovascular reactions to laboratory stress.

Evidence that individuals with elevated resting blood pressures display excessive cardiovascular reactions to laboratory stress is regarded as implicating excessive reactivity in the pathogenesis of hypertension. However, it remains possible that this relationship is artifactual, in that resting blood pressure levels and cardiovascular reactions might both reflect intrinsic cardiovascular lability. To examine this possibility, blood pressure and heart rate were measured at rest and in response to an active laboratory stressor in 1259 men.

The relationship between resting systolic blood pressure and cutaneous pain perception in cardiac patients with angina pectoris and controls.

In order to determine the influence of resting systolic blood pressure and stable angina on cutaneous pain perception, we studied 19 male cardiac patients with stable angina and 16 male controls. Pain perception was measured using a suprathreshold evaluation of pain intensity and pain unpleasantness to a series of thermal stimuli. We found that men with higher resting blood pressure had a decrease in the perception of pain intensity and pain unpleasantness.

Heart rate variability in patients with coronary artery disease: differences in patients with higher and lower depression scores.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that coronary artery disease patients with higher depression scores have lower heart rate variability during daily life.

Method: Thirty-three men and nine women, ranging in age from 46 to 79, with coronary artery disease and exercise-induced ischemia were studied. The standard deviation of normal R-R intervals (SDNN) and average heart rate were obtained from 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring.

Association of systolic blood pressure at time of myocardial ischemia with angina pectoris during exercise testing.

In a sample of 306 patients with positive treadmill test results, we found that patients with silent ischemia had a higher systolic blood pressure at onset of ST depression than patients with painful ischemia. We conclude that systolic blood pressure at the time of ischemia influences the experience of angina during exercise in a manner consistent with acute activation of baroreceptors and resulting antinociception.

The relationship between socioeconomic status, hostility, and blood pressure reactions to mental stress in men: data from the Whitehall II study.

This study investigated the relationship among blood pressure reactions to mental stress, cynical hostility, and socioeconomic status (SES) in 1,091 male public servants. Occupational grade served to index SES and cynical hostility was assessed using the Cook-Medley scale. (Cook & Medley, 1954).

The effects of recent food, alcohol, and tobacco intake and the temporal scheduling of testing on cardiovascular activity at rest and during psychological stress.

Participants in cardiovascular psychophysiological studies receive various instructions regarding restraints on alcohol, food, and tobacco intake prior to testing. Further, although the hour of testing is frequently a concern, little attention is paid to month of the year. In the present study, we examined cardiovascular activity at rest and in response to a laboratory stress task in 1,272 men in terms of these variables.

Blood pressure reactions to the cold pressor test and the prediction of future blood pressure status: data from the Caerphilly study.

The prognostic significance of the cold pressor test in hypertension remains a matter of controversy. Following determination at an initial screening session, blood pressure (BP) was recorded at baseline rest and in reaction to a cold pressor test. Follow-up screening BP was determined 5 years later.

Daily events and somatic symptoms: evidence of a lagged relationship.

In order to examine the lagged relationship between daily events and somatic symptoms, 48 students completed the Students Assessment of Daily Experience Questionnaire and the Somatic Symptoms subscale of the General Health Questionnaire for five days. Undesirable events were correlated with somatic symptoms three to four days later.

Pressor reactions to psychological stress and prediction of future blood pressure: data from the Whitehall II Study.

Objective: To examine whether reactions of blood pressure to psychological stress predict future blood pressure.

Design: Blood pressure was recorded at a medical screening examination after which pressor reactions to a psychological stress task were determined. Follow up measurement of blood pressure was undertaken, on average, 4.

Social support and cardiovascular reactions to active laboratory stressors.

In order to examine the hypothesis that social support attenuates cardiovascular reactions to standard laboratory stressors. 60 male and 60 female undergraduates were first tested alone and then in one of three conditions: alone, or with a friend or a stranger present. Those tested with a partner, be it friend or stranger, displayed cardiovascular reactions of a similar magnitude to those who remained alone.

Association of the A1 allele of the D2 dopamine receptor gene with severe alcoholism.

In a blinded study, 159 subjects composed of nonalcoholics (N = 43), less severe alcoholics (N = 44), severe alcoholics (N = 52) and young children of alcoholics (CoAs, N = 20) were studied for their allelic association with the D2 dopamine receptor (D2DR) gene utilizing peripheral lymphocytes as the DNA source. The combined alcoholic group compared to the nonalcoholic group showed a significantly greater association with the A1 allele of the D2DR gene. Furthermore, an even more robust association was found when severe alcoholics were compared to nonalcoholics.