A urinary marker of oxidative stress covaries positively with hostility among midlife community volunteers.
OBJECTIVE
Although not all findings are consistent, growing evidence suggests that individuals high in dispositional hostility are at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality; however, the mechanisms of these associations remain unclear. One possibility is that hostility is associated with oxidative stress. Here, we explore relationships between hostility and a measure of systemic oxidative stress among a mid-life sample.


METHODS
In a community sample of 223 adults aged 30 to 54 years (86% white, 50% female), oxidative stress was measured as the 24-hour urinary excretion of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). An abbreviated Cook Medley Hostility Scale was used to measure dimensions of hostility.


RESULTS
Regression analyses controlling for demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors showed a positive relationship of 8-OHdG with total hostility (beta = 0.003, p = .03) and hostile affect (beta = 0.018, p < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide evidence that dispositional hostility, and in particular, hostile affect, covary positively with systemic oxidative stress, raising the possibility that oxidative stress contributes to the pathogenicity of hostile attributes.
Carroll
Judith E
JE
MS, Behavioral Immunology Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh, Old Engineering Hall, Suite 600, 3943 O'Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15260. jec51@pitt.edu
Marsland
Anna L
AL
Jenkins
Frank
F
Baum
Andrew
A
Muldoon
Matthew F
MF
Manuck
Stephen B
SB
D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000367:Age Factors; D001290:Attitude; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000502:physiology; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003849:Deoxyguanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012307:Risk Factors; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D015415:Biomarkers; D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D003849:Deoxyguanosine; D004837:Epinephrine