Why the study?
Do experiences of high demand and low control during daily life predict carotid atherosclerotic progression in healthy individuals?
Do experiences of high demand and low control during daily life predict carotid atherosclerotic progression in healthy individuals?
High daily life demand and low control predict carotid atherosclerotic progression in healthy men, highlighting the utility of electronic diary-based psychosocial risk assessment.
No practice change warranted; leaves open sex-specific effects of daily demand-control imbalance on carotid IMT progression.
OBJECTIVES: 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. DESIGN: 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. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean bilateral carotid artery IMT was measured at baseline and 36 months later. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: 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.
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Kamarck et al. (2007) studied this question.