Men from Vilnius, Lithuania, had significantly worse psychosocial risk factors for CHD, including higher job strain, vital exhaustion, and depression, compared to men from Linköping, Sweden (P<0.001).
Cross-Sectional (n=300)
Yes
Are there differences in psychosocial risk factors for CHD between 50-year-old men in Lithuania and Sweden?
A cluster of unfavorable psychosocial risk factors in Lithuanian men compared to Swedish men may partly explain the four-fold higher CHD mortality in Lithuania.
p-value: p=<0.001
OBJECTIVE: Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality is four times higher in 50-year-old Lithuanian men than in 50-year-old Swedish men. The difference cannot be explained by standard risk factors. The objective of this study was to examine differences in psychosocial risk factors for CHD in the two countries. METHODS: The LiVicordia study is a cross-sectional survey comparing 150 randomly selected 50-year-old men in each of the two cities: Vilnius, Lithuania, and Linköping, Sweden. As part of the study, a broad range of psychosocial characteristics, known to predict CHD, were investigated. RESULTS: In the men from Vilnius compared with those from Linköping, we found a cluster of psychosocial risk factors for CHD; higher job strain (p <.01), lower social support at work, lower emotional support, and lower social integration (p values <.001). Vilnius men also showed lower coping, self-esteem, and sense of coherence (p values < .001), higher vital exhaustion, and depression (p values < .001). Quality of life and perceived health were lower and expectations of ill health within 5 to 10 years were higher in Vilnius men (p values < .001). Correlations between measurements on traditional and psychosocial risk factors were few and weak. CONCLUSIONS: The Vilnius men, representing the population with a four-fold higher CHD mortality, had unfavorable characteristics on a cluster of psychosocial risk factors for CHD in comparison with the Linköping men. We suggest that this finding may provide a basis for possible new explanations of the differences in CHD mortality between Lithuania and Sweden.
Kristenson et al. (Thu,) conducted a cross-sectional in Coronary heart disease risk (n=300). Residence in Vilnius, Lithuania vs. Residence in Linköping, Sweden was evaluated on Psychosocial risk factors for CHD (including job strain, social support, coping, and depression) (p=<0.001). Men from Vilnius, Lithuania, had significantly worse psychosocial risk factors for CHD, including higher job strain, vital exhaustion, and depression, compared to men from Linköping, Sweden (P<0.001).