Abstract. Background Emotions and coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is a significant public health issue, due to its high prevalence and mortality rate (1). A number of clinical and experimental studies indicate that strong emotions, especially negative emotions, such as hostility, anger, depression and anxiety, precipitate coronary heart disease (2, 3). On the one hand, coronary heart disease patients have difficulty in coping with stress and depression and experience negative emotions, like anger or frustration. On the other hand, positive emotions, especially hope, contribute to health benefits and lead to lower levels of coronary heart disease and other diseases (4-7).Stress is one of the most predisposing factors of people with coronary heart disease. Between 20% and 40% of all middle-aged women and men report stress-related symptoms in population studies (8). The relation between anxiety and coronary heart disease has been the subject of several studies, most of which indicate that stressful events are associated with coronary heart disease. Sudden and profound emotional stress, namely, death of relatives, domestic abuse, severe arguments, medical diagnoses, devastating financial loss, can trigger acute heart failure in individuals who are free from cardiac disease (9). Social relationships, size and 859 This article is freely accessible online.

The aim of the present study is to examine the relation between understanding of emotions and cardiovascular related diseases, namely coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Coronary heart disease is a type of cardiovascular disease that usually coexists with other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. The uniqueness of this study lies in the fact that examined the relationship between the cardiovascular related diseases named above and the understanding of emotions in the context of Emotional Intelligence (EI). The latter consists of a wide range of psychological factors that reflect many aspects of human thought and behavior, providing a very comprehensive picture of each person. The experimental design through the observed variables were approached, has not been applied in previous studies internationally. The study was conducted in 300 participants during a 3 year period. All participants completed a self-report questionnaire, assessing various aspects of EI, such as self-emotion appraisal, other emotion appraisal, emotion regulation and use of emotions. As hypothesized, coronary heart disease is a prognostic factor of regulation of emotions. The results of this study extend and reinforce the findings of previous studies, which emphasize on the relationship of cardiovascular related diseases and psychological characteristics, such as anxiety and anger, being aspects of EI. Additionally, this work fills a gap in the relevant Greek literature, as a first attempt to examine the correlation of EI with cardiovascular related diseases. New approaches are needed to improve primary prevention, early detection and clinical management of those diseases. Furthermore, this study focused on the need to cultivate and improve EI of patients, in order to eliminate the effects of the diseases.

Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of disordered eating and the dietary patterns of young adult female students. Method. 226 young female first and second year students were randomly recruited. The EAT-26 questionnaire was used to measure disordered eating, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory tool (STAI) to assess anxiety levels. Results. The prevalence of disordered eating (DE group) was quite high and matched previous reported percentages for this age population (18%). DE students showed significantly lower energy intake compared to control group (CON) (1471 ± 357 vs. 1690 ± 563, kcals). Conclusion. Young adult female students show increased tendency towards disordered or restricted eating behaviours. Preventive intervention concerning the negative behaviours may be beneficial for all college students more so to those suffering from anxiety.

Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of disordered eating and the dietary patterns of young adult female students. Method. 226 young female first and second year students were randomly recruited. The EAT-26 questionnaire was used to measure disordered eating, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory tool (STAI) to assess anxiety levels. Results. The prevalence of disordered eating (DE group) was quite high and matched previous reported percentages for this age population (18%). DE students showed significantly lower energy intake compared to control group (CON) (1471 ± 357 vs. 1690 ± 563, kcals). Conclusion. Young adult female students show increased tendency towards disordered or restricted eating behaviours. Preventive intervention concerning the negative behaviours may be beneficial for all college students more so to those suffering from anxiety.

The aim of the present study is to examine the relation between understanding of emotions and cardiovascular related diseases, namely coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Coronary heart disease is a type of cardiovascular disease that usually coexists with other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. The uniqueness of this study lies in the fact that examined the relationship between the cardiovascular related diseases named above and the understanding of emotions in the context of Emotional Intelligence (EI). The latter consists of a wide range of psychological factors that reflect many aspects of human thought and behavior, providing a very comprehensive picture of each person. The experimental design through the observed variables were approached, has not been applied in previous studies internationally. The study was conducted in 300 participants during a 3 year period. All participants completed a self-report questionnaire, assessing various aspects of EI, such as self-emotion appraisal, other emotion appraisal, emotion regulation and use of emotions. As hypothesized, coronary heart disease is a prognostic factor of regulation of emotions. The results of this study extend and reinforce the findings of previous studies, which emphasize on the relationship of cardiovascular related diseases and psychological characteristics, such as anxiety and anger, being aspects of EI. Additionally, this work fills a gap in the relevant Greek literature, as a first attempt to examine the correlation of EI with cardiovascular related diseases. New approaches are needed to improve primary prevention, early detection and clinical management of those diseases. Furthermore, this study focused on the need to cultivate and improve EI of patients, in order to eliminate the effects of the PrePrints AbstractThe aim of the present study is to examine the relation between understanding of emotions and cardiovascular related diseases, namely coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity.Coronary heart disease is a type of cardiovascular disease that usually coexists with other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. The uniqueness of this study lies in the fact that examined the relationship between the cardiovascular related diseases named above and the understanding of emotions in the context of Emotional Intelligence (EI). The latter consists of a wide range of psychological factors that reflect many aspects of human thought and behavior, providing a very comprehensive picture of each person. The experimental design through the observed variables were approached, has not been applied in previous studies internationally. The study was conducted in 300 participants during a 3 year period. All participants completed a selfreport questionnaire, assessing various aspects of EI, such as self-emotion appraisal, other emotion appraisal, emotion regulation and use of emotions. As hypothesized, coronary heart disease is a prognostic factor of regulation of emotions. The results of this study ext...