Experiences of demand and control during daily life are predictors of carotid atherosclerotic progression among healthy men.
OBJECTIVE
The authors previously reported that individuals who rate their daily life as more demanding or less controllable by momentary electronic diary (ED) reports showed greater intima-medial thickness (IMT) by carotid ultrasonography. They now present prospective findings on this relation.


METHODS
Three hundred thirty-five healthy individuals (ages 50-70 at study onset) completed ongoing ratings of activity and mood over a 6-day period, using ED assessments.


METHODS
Mean bilateral carotid artery IMT was measured at baseline and 36 months later.


CONCLUSIONS
Mean ratings of high demand and low control were significantly associated with IMT progression among men but not among women. These associations were not explained by traditional risk factors or by measures of occupational stress. Effects were partially accounted for by elevated ambulatory heart rates among those with low ratings of control. These data support the utility of ED-based measures for examining psychosocial risks in the prediction of cardiovascular disease progression.
Kamarck
Thomas W
TW
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. tkam@pitt.edu
Muldoon
Matthew F
MF
Shiffman
Saul S
SS
Sutton-Tyrrell
Kim
K
D000368:Aged; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D010414:Pennsylvania; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires