The relationship of blood pressure to a brief measure of anger during routine health screening.
A brief questionnaire (12 items) was developed to assess aspects of anger that could be expeditiously obtained during health screenings where medical students and residents can acquire valuable research and clinical experience simultaneously. Blood pressures were measured immediately upon sitting and after 3 minutes in 179 subjects who attended a health fair in Nashville. The questionnaire was administered after both blood pressure measurements were acquired. Scores on the measure of anger correlated significantly (P = .0009) with resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) in both blacks and whites while a measure of "John Henryism" showed no correlation with blood pressure in either group (P = .81). The findings are consistent with the literature in supporting a connection between anger and blood pressure but do not support the relationship between John Henryism and blood pressure.
Francis
R A
RA
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208.
Ernst
F A
FA
Nevels
H
H
Lemeh
C A
CA
D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires