Does Autonomic Function Link Social Position to Coronary Risk?
Why the study?
Does low social position and adverse psychosocial stress reduce heart rate variability and increase metabolic risk in healthy male civil servants?
Population
2197 male civil servants 45 to 68 years of age in the Whitehall II study
Comparison
Low social position and adverse… vs Higher social position and better…
Design
Cohort
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
May link low employment grade to metabolic risk via reduced HRV; hypothesis-generating for autonomic mediation, does not alter practice.
Key Points
- This study aims to explore how autonomic function relates social position to coronary risk factors.
- Included 2197 male civil servants aged 45 to 68 from the Whitehall II study.
- Assessed heart rate variability to evaluate parasympathetic and sympathetic functions.
- Analyzed associations with psychosocial, behavioral, and metabolic risk factors for coronary disease.
- Low employment grade was linked to low heart rate variability (HRV), P ≤ 0.02.
- Mean low-frequency power was significantly lower (319 ms² vs. 379 ms²) in participants with low job control, P = 0.004.
- Strong linear associations were found between HRV and components of metabolic syndrome, P < 0.001.
Structured PICO
Does low social position and adverse psychosocial stress reduce heart rate variability and increase metabolic risk in healthy male civil servants?
P
Population
2197 male civil servants 45 to 68 years of age in the Whitehall II study
I
Intervention
Low social position (assessed by employment grade) and adverse psychosocial/behavioral factors
C
Comparator
Higher social position (higher employment grade) and better psychosocial/behavioral profiles
O
Outcome
Heart rate variability (SD of N-N intervals, high-frequency power, and low-frequency power) and components of the metabolic syndromesurrogate
Chronically impaired autonomic function, reflected by reduced heart rate variability, may serve as a mechanistic link between low social position and increased coronary risk.
Cite This Study
Hemingway et al. (2005) studied this question.