Abstract
Exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity(CVR) to stress has been documented in subsets of adult and childhood populations and has been proposed as a possible mediating link between behavioral risk factors and coronary heart disease. Because little previous work has examined the relationship of CVR to environmental stressors, we studied psychosocial correlates of heart rate(HR) and blood pressure(BP) reactivity in 25 adolescent males ranging in age from 12 to 18.
CVR was assessed using a standardized protocol in which HR and BP were periodically measured as subjects completed 3 tasks: mental arithmetic, a competitive video game, and a cold pressor test A structured interview and physical exam, completed prior to CVR testing, provided measures of demographic variables, height, weight, stressful life events(LE), and family social support(SS).
Mean CVR across tasks was bimodally distributed, with a small subpopulation of subjects displaying hyperdynamic HR and BP responses. Age and body mass index (wt/ht2) were correlated with systolic BP reactivity (r=0.48, p<0.01; r=-0.30, p=0.08), and SS was inversely associated with diastolic reactivity (r=-0.37, p<0.05). Unexpectedly, LE was strongly and inversely related to mean BP and HR reactivity (r=-0.47, p<0.01; r=-0.40, p<0.05), with the most LE reported by subjects with the least CVR. Possible explanations for this finding include: a) an “inoculation” effect, in which LE serve as opportunities to learn effective means of coping with stress, and b) an effect of exaggerated CVR on the actual cognition and reporting of such events.
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Boyce, W., Sibley, B. & Chesterman, B. LIFE EVENTS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND CARDIOVASCULAR REACTIVITY IN ADOLESCENCE. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 179 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00078
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00078