The Prospective Contribution of Hostility Characteristics to High Fasting Glucose Levels

Abstract

OBJECTIVE -To assess whether psychological constructs of hostility, anger, type A behavior pattern, and depressive symptom severity 1) were associated with concurrent and prospective fasting glucose levels and 2) whether this association was moderated by marital status.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Participants were 485 healthy men ([mean Ϯ SD] age 59 Ϯ 7 years) without a history of heart disease, diabetes, or taking related medications in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study. Their fasting glucose levels between 1986 and 1995 were examined. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to investigate whether hostility, anger, type A behavior, and depressive symptoms were associated with concurrent fasting glucose levels as well as fasting glucose 9 years later, controlling for standard sociodemographic and biomedical covariates, including baseline fasting glucose, age, education, marital status, BMI, total cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure.RESULTS -Although none of the psychological variables were associated with concurrent fasting glucose, Cook-Medley hostility (␤ ϭ 0.105), anger (␤ ϭ 0.091), and type A behavior (␤ ϭ 0.152) each were associated with prospective fasting glucose 9 years later, controlling for standard covariates. Depressive symptom severity was not associated with either concurrent or follow-up glucose levels. Further analysis showed that marital status moderated the effects of these characteristics on follow-up fasting glucose such that hostility, anger, and type A behavior were significant only among those who were not married (␤ ϭ 0.348, 0.444, 0.439, respectively; all P Ͻ0.001).CONCLUSIONS -Hostility, anger, and type A behavior appear to be independent risk factors for impaired glucose metabolism among unmarried older men.

Psychological Factors, Coffee and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus among Middle-Aged Japanese: a Population-Based Prospective Study in the JPHC Study Cohort

“…Type A behavior is also thought to stimulate the HPA axis and the sympathetic nervous system [23] and an association between type A behavior and hyperglycemia was reported in a few studies [24,25]. Therefore it is possible that type A behavior is associated with the risk of diabetes; however, there are no papers that report this association as far as we know.…”

HbA1c levels as a function of emotional regulation and emotional intelligence in patients with type 2 diabetes

“…Gonder-Frederick et al [36] reported, more than two decades ago, that hyperglycemia was associated with negative emotions (i.e., sadness, anger); a finding only recently replicated in nearly 500 healthy men [37]. Most recently, Schöpf et al [38] showed that hyperglycemia, via a glucose clamp (at 160-180 mg/L), was associated with reduced activations in limbic structures (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus) to negative or positive stimuli during the hyperglycemic, compared with a euglycemic baseline, in young, healthy subjects.…”

Supportive Family Environments Ameliorate the Link Between Racial Discrimination and Epigenetic Aging

“…One consistent consequence of perceived discrimination is the development and expression of anger and hostility (Priest et al, 2013), which have been shown to influence physiological functioning across several subsystems. For example, hostility has been associated with amplified blood pressure reactions to stress (Fredrickson et al, 2000), elevated fasting glucose (Shen, Countryman, Spiro, & Niaura, 2008), and heightened plasma lipid levels (Weidner, Sexton, McLellarn, Connor, & Matarazzo, 1987). Frequent exposure to interpersonal discrimination can be expected to occasion persistent activation of stress response systems, in particular the sympathetic nervous system and HPA.…”