Job strain, Type A behavior pattern, and the prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis in Japanese working men.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relation of type A behavior pattern and job strain to angiographically documented coronary stenosis.


METHODS
Subjects were 197 male Japanese patients with a full-time job. A questionnaire-based interview elicited psychosocial and other factors. Type A behavior pattern was measured by 12 questions, and job strain by the method of Karasek. Significant coronary stenosis was defined when a 75% or greater luminal narrowing occurred at one or more major coronary arteries or when a 50% or greater narrowing occurred at the left main artery. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) with adjustment for traditional coronary risk factors and job type.


RESULTS
Type A behavior pattern was related to a statistically non-significant lower prevalence of the coronary stenosis especially in the absence of job strain (adjusted OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-1.2). Job strain was non-significantly associated with a modestly increased prevalence of coronary stenosis (OR 1.7, 95% CI 0.6-5.2).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that both the behavioral pattern and psychosocial work environment may be related to coronary artery stenosis.
Yoshimasu
K
K
Department of Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
Liu
Y
Y
Kodama
H
H
Sasazuki
S
S
Washio
M
M
Tanaka
K
K
Tokunaga
S
S
Kono
S
S
Arai
H
H
Koyanagi
S
S
Hiyamuta
K
K
Doi
Y
Y
Kawano
T
T
Nakagaki
O
O
Takada
K
K
Nii
T
T
Shirai
K
K
Ideishi
M
M
Arakawa
K
K
Mohri
M
M
Takeshita
A
A
D000328:Adult; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D014434:Type A Personality