Anger expression and risk of coronary heart disease: Evidence from the Nova Scotia Health Survey
Received 27 September 2009; accepted 10 November 2009.
Background
Whereas some studies have found that anger increases the risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD), others found anger to be protective. Prior studies did not account for different types of anger expression, which may be associated with opposing levels of cardiovascular risk. This study examines whether distinct types of anger expression differentially predict incident CHD.
Methods
We conducted a population-based, observational prospective study of 785 randomly selected Canadian men and women (50% each) aged 46 to 92 years and free of CHD in 1995. Using videotaped interviews, trained coders rated 3 types of anger expression: constructive anger (discussing anger to resolve the situation), destructive anger justification (blaming others for one's anger), and destructive anger rumination (brooding over an anger-inducing incident). The association between anger expression type per SD and incident CHD was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for sex, age, cardiovascular risk factors, depressive symptoms, hostility, and anxiety. Interactions of anger expression type and gender were also tested.
Results
There were 115 incident CHD events (14.6%) during 6,584 person-years of follow-up. The association between clinically assessed constructive anger expression and CHD varied by gender (P for interaction = .02); higher levels were associated with a lower risk of incident CHD in men only (hazard ratio 0.58, 95% CI 0.43-0.80, P < .001), whereas higher levels of destructive anger justification was associated with a 31% increased risk of CHD in both sexes (hazard ratio 1.31, 95% CI 1.03-1.67, P = .03) and predicted CHD incidence independent of covariates and depressive symptoms, hostility, and anxiety.
Conclusions
Decreased constructive anger in men and increased destructive anger justification in men and women are associated with increased risk of 10-year incident CHD.
aDepartment of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY
bCardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
cDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Reprint requests: Karina W. Davidson, PhD, Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Room 948, PH9 Center, 622 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032.
ABSTRACT