Relationships of neurogenic and psychological factors to the regulation and variability of serum lipids

Abstract

There is consistent evidence that self‐perceived stress can cause significant short‐term increases of plasma total and LDL cholesterol that vary in different individuals and are occasionally of large magnitude. This may be due to a stimulation of sympathetic nervous system activity that suppresses LDL cholesterol receptors. Behavioral ‘activation’ appears to be associated with higher cholesterol levels, reduced participation in life activities with lower levels, and transient increases during emotional arousal with anxiety.

LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature

“…However, association does not prove causation. Mental stress, for instance, is able to raise cholesterol by 10-50% in the course of half an hour [18,19], and mental stress may cause atherosclerosis by mechanisms other than an increase in LDL-C; for instance, via hypertension and increased platelet aggregation.…”

Effects of work overload and burnout on cholesterol and triglycerides levels: The moderating efffects of emotional reactivity among male and female employees.

“…One of the mechanisms explaining the findings that stress leads to elevations of serum cholesterol has been that of stress-induced emotional anxiety. When encountering subjective stress, the level of activity of the sympathetic nervous system increases (Rosenman, 1993b). High levels of sympathetic arousal have been associated with enhanced cardiovascular reactivity and higher levels of total cholesterol (Fredrikson, Lundberg, & Tuomisto, 1991).…”

Relationships between hostility and physiological coronary heart disease risk factors in young adults: the moderating influence of depressive tendencies

“…In addition, among healthy individuals, hostility or related constructs (e.g. Trait Anger) have been associated with various physiological CHD risk factors, such as : systolic blood pressure (SBP) (Markovits et al 1991) ; serum cholesterol levels (for reviews, see Rosenman, 1993) ; serum triglycerides (TG) (Fowkes et al 1992 ;Johnson et al 1992 ;Knox et al 1996 ;Ravaja et al 1996) ; serum insulin (Ravaja et al 1996) ; insulin to glucose ratio and enhanced insulin, C-peptide, and glucose responses during the oral glucose tolerance test (Ra$ ikko$ nen et al 1994) ; body-mass index (BMI) (Wing et al 1991 ;Ravaja et al 1996) ; body fat distribution, as measured by the waist to hip ratio (WHR) (Wing et al 1991) ; and, subscapular skinfold thickness (SSF) (Ravaja et al 1996). However, with regard to gender differences, hostility appears to be more strongly and consistently associated with the physiological CHD risk factors among males than in females.…”