Associations between acute lipid stress responses and fasting lipid levels 3 years later.

The authors assessed the association between lipid responses to acute mental stress and fasting serum lipid levels 3 years later in 199 middle-aged men and women. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol increased following moderately stressful behavioral tasks. LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and total:HDL ratio measured 3 years later were predicted by acute stress responses independent of gender, age, socioeconomic position, change in body mass, smoking, alcohol consumption, or hormone replacement therapy baseline lipid levels. The odds of clinically elevated cholesterol were significantly greater in the highest compared with the lowest stress tertile, independent of baseline levels and covariates. Acute lipid stress responsivity may reflect processes that contribute to the development of elevated blood cholesterol concentration.     

Serum lipids and their relationships with hostility and angry affect and behaviors in men.

Research into the relationship between the Type A behavior pattern and coronary heart disease suggests that the anger-hostility-aggression (AHA!) syndrome is directly related to total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins. The present study involved an investigation of the specific components of the AHA! syndrome related to blood lipid levels in 98 healthy men. The disposition to experience and express anger when frustrated, criticized, or treated unfairly (angry reaction, a component of trait anger) was related to total serum cholesterol and to low-density lipoprotein levels. Age and diet also predicted levels of these lipids, but each was unrelated to angry reaction. These results suggest that in healthy men, the experience of strong angry affect in reaction to perceived rejection, criticism, or unfair treatment may be health-toxic because of its relationship to elevated unfavorable serum lipids.     

Personality and Serum Lipids: Does Lifestyle Account for Their Concurrent and Long‐term Relationships

This study evaluates concurrent and over time associations of personality with measures of three serum lipids associated coronary heart disease morbidity, namely, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride (TRI). Participants were individuals who underwent a health examination at two points of time, T1 (N = 3835) and T2 (N = 2283), about 2.5 years apart. Personality was assessed by the Five‐Factor Model. Health, socioeconomic status and healthy lifestyle behaviours (smoking intensity, physical activity and body weight) were controlled. Regression analyses indicate that the personality factors of neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness are each significantly associated with HDL‐C and TRI, both concurrently and over time. However, most of these associations decreased to marginal significance when adjusted for body weight or physical activity as possible mediators. Both concurrent and over time associations of the openness personality trait with HDL‐C and TRI were significant and persisted after adjustment for measures of a healthy lifestyle. This study emphasizes the importance of collecting measures of a healthy lifestyle to better understand how personality might influence serum lipids. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Psychological hardiness predicts cardiovascular health

Many, but not all people experience diminished health, performance and well-being as a function of exposure to stress. However, the underlying neurophysiological processes which characterize hardy or resilient people are not well understood. This study examines psychological hardiness and several indicators of cardiovascular health, including body mass index (BMI) and blood cholesterol markers in a sample of 338 middle-aged adults enrolled in a national security education program. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that after controlling for the influence of age and sex, high hardiness is related to higher HDL – high density lipoprotein and less body fat (BMI). Lower hardiness is associated with greater total cholesterol to HDL ratio, a cardiovascular disease risk factor. These results suggest that psychological hardiness confers resilience in part through an influence on cholesterol production and metabolism.     

大连某医院体检人群血脂四项的调查分析

对大连地区健康成人血清总胆固醇（TC）、血清甘油三脂（TG）、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）进行调查研究.选取2009年4月至2010年12月大连地区16 052名健康体检者,并按性别和年龄分组.早晨空腹,采集所有调查对象3ml肝素抗凝血,用日立7060全自动生化分析仪检测血清TC、TG、HDL-C和LDL-C的结果.结果大连地区健康成人血脂水平比2007年发表的中国成人血脂异常防治指南所确定的正常参考区间偏高,因此,我们对大连地区人们的血脂水平必须引起高度重视,以预防和减少高脂血症及其相关疾病的发生.     

伴家族史的2型糖尿病危险因素的病例对照研究

为探讨2型糖尿病代谢特征及发病的危险因素,选取大连地区91例有家族史的T2DM患者为病例组,以44例患者的配偶（糖耐量正常）为对照组,进行流行病学问卷调查和体格检查,同时测定空腹血糖、空腹胰岛素、总胆固醇、甘油三酯、高密度脂蛋白、低密度脂蛋白等指标,采用稳态模型法计算两组的胰岛素抵抗指数和β细胞功能指数,并进行多因素非条件Logistic回归分析。结果显示：TG、腰臀比和Ln（HOMAIR）病例组高于对照组,而Ln（HOMAβ）则病例组低于对照组,均具有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。多因素非条件Logistic回归分析结果提示,影响T2DM发病的因素有心血管疾病史、Ln（HOMAIR）及Ln（HOMAβ）。由此可见T2DM患者存在血脂代谢异常;心血管疾病史和Ln（HOMAIR）为发病的危险因素,Ln（HOMAβ）为保护因素。     

Serum Lipids in Suicide Attempters

As other studies have shown possible associations of low serum cholesterol concentrations as well as serotonin and corticosteroid deviances with suicide or depression, the present study was undertaken to investigate the serum lipid levels in subgroups of suicide attempters. Serum lipids were determined in 72 suicide attempters. Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and plasma cortisol levels were measured, and dexamethasone suppression tests were performed. Hopelessness and suicidality were rated by the Hopelessness Scale (HS) and the Suicidal Intent Scales (SIS). The mean total serum cholesterol (TSC) level was 5.0 ± 1.2 mmol/L. We found no significant correlations between TSC and the monoamine metabolites. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed positive correlations with the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (r = 0.39, p = 0.04) and the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (r = 0.34, p = 0.07). The SIS and HS scales did not correlate significantly with serum lipids. “Violent” attempters showed somewhat higher serum lipid levels than “nonviolent” attempters. We found no significant differences in serum lipid levels between the diagnostic subgroups. Hence, we could not find much support for the hypothesis of associations between low cholesterol levels and decreased serotonin activity in the brain. However, this field merits further investigation.     

A cholesterol-lowering diet does not produce adverse psychological effects in children: three-year results from the dietary intervention study in children.

The Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC), a 2-arm, multicenter intervention study, examined the efficacy and safety of a diet lower in total fat, saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol than the typical American child's diet. A total of 663 8- to 10-year-old children with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a usual-care group. Intervention included group and individual counseling sessions to assist participants in adopting a dietary pattern containing 28% or less of calories from total fat (<8% as saturated fat, up to 9% as polyunsaturated fat, and 11% as monounsaturated fat) and dietary cholesterol intake of less than 75 mg/1,000 kcal. The dietary intervention reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and 3-year results showed no adverse effects for children in the intervention group in terms of academic functioning, psychological symptoms, or family functioning.     

升高高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）面临的挑战——升HDL-C药物的不同机制和HDL-C升高的疗效评价

高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）水平与发生冠心病的危险性呈负相关。HDL通过促进胆固醇逆转运、改善内皮功能、抗氧化、抗炎和抗血栓而发挥心血管保护作用。HDL已成为冠心病防治工作的新靶点,生活方式和调脂药物的干预能升高HDL-C,然而HDL的功能比HDL-C血浆水平更重要,多项以HDL为靶点新的治疗措施正在研究中,临床上如何评价HDL-C升高的疗效价值及升高HDL-C的药物和策略有着重要意义。进一步研究HDL的结构、代谢和功能能够深入了解脂质代谢过程和动脉粥样硬化发生机制,使干预HDL成为动脉粥样硬化防治新的目标。     

Twin study of laboratory-induced aggression

The aim of this study was to explore genetic and environmental contributions to laboratory-induced aggressive behavior. On a sample of 478 adult twins (316 monozygotic), the Competitive Reaction Time Task was used for aggression induction. The results showed that the initial, basic level of aggression could be explained by both shared (45%) and nonshared environmental factors (55%), while only nonshared environmental factors (100%) had a significant influence on changes in aggression as provocation increased. Genetic factors had no influence on laboratory-induced aggression. The results highlight the importance of environmental factors in shaping situation-specific aggressive responses to provocation.     

Nature,nurture and academic achievement: A twin study of teacher assessments of 7‐year‐olds

Background: Twin research has consistently shown substantial genetic influence on individual differences in cognitive ability; however, much less is known about the genetic and environmental aetiologies of school achievement. Aims: Our goal is to test the hypotheses that teacher‐assessed achievement in the early school years shows substantial genetic influence but only modest shared environmental influence when children are assessed by the same teachers and by different teachers. Sample: 1,189 monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs born in 1994in England and Wales. Methods: Teachers evaluated academic achievement for 7‐year‐olds in Mathematics and English. Results were based on the twin method, which compares the similarity between identical and fraternal twins. Results: Suggested substantial genetic influence in that identical twins were almost twice as similar as fraternal twins when compared on teacher assessments for Mathematics, English and a total score. Conclusions: The results confirm prior research suggesting that teacher assessments of academic achievement are substantially influenced by genetics. This finding holds even when twins are assessed independently by different teachers.     

Cognitive-affective assets and vulnerabilities: Two factors influencing adaptation to Fibromyalgia

The present article describes the associations between hostility and serum lipids in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients. A sample of 212 male coronary patients was used of which 127 recently suffered a Myocardial Infarction (MI), and 85 had undergone either a Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) or a Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA). Total Cholesterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride concentrations were measured as well as four hostility factors: ‘Negative Affectivity’ (NA), ‘Anger-In’ (AI), ‘Anger-Out’ (AO) and Coping, i.e. behaviors to control feelings of anger and anxiety. The results indicated that the effects of hostility on lipids were mediated by various factors such as body weight in relation to body length (BMI), Socio-Economic Status (SES), Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction (LVEF) and Age. In subgroups of highly exhausted patients or of patients scoring high on the Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP), however, more direct (unilinear) associations between lipids and hostility were found. The findings of the present study confirm the rather weak association between hostility and blood lipids found elsewhere. Furthermore, a low level of triglycerides was consistently associated with low AO, be it again in interaction with BMI (AO × BMI), both in the group of non-MI patients and in the total sample for those patients who score high on vital exhaustion and/or TABP. This finding provides an extra argument against the popular notion of the healthfulness under all circumstances of anger expression. Until now the exact role of triglycerides as a function of anger/hostility has been under-explored. This issue merits further attention in future research.     

Friend support and psychological distress in a U.S. adult twin sample

Friend support is often assumed to exert direct environmental influences on psychological distress, yet the role of both genetic and environmental influences on this association has not been examined. This study investigates whether both genetic and environmental factors explain the link between friend support and psychological distress in adults. The sample was drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States study and included 947 pairs of monozygotic, same‐sex dizygotic (DZ), and opposite‐sex DZ twins. Results showed that genetic influences explain the association between friend support and psychological distress, suggesting that heritable contributions to friend support also shape psychological distress. Interventions focused on psychological distress should consider how individuals' heritable characteristics influence their friend support and psychological distress.     

Why do measures of normal and disordered personality correlate? A study of genetic comorbidity

The genetic and environmental correlations between measures of normal (NEO-FFI) and abnormal personality (Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology: DAPP-BQ) were estimated in a sample of 545 volunteer general population twin pairs (269 monozygotic and 276 dizygotic pairs). The largest genetic correlations were observed between the 18 DAPP-BQ dimensions and NEO-FFI neuroticism (range = .05 to .81; median = .48), extraversion (range = -.65 to .33; median = -.28), agreeableness (range = -.65 to .00; median = -.38), and conscientiousness (range = -.76 to .52; median = -.31). The smallest genetic correlations were found between the DAPP-BQ dimensions and NEO-FFI openness (range = -.17 to .20; median = -.04). The environmental correlations are lower in magnitude but show the same pattern of correlations between DAPP-BQ and NEO-FFI scales. These results indicate that these two scales share a common broad-based genetic architecture, whereas the environmental influences show greater scale specificity.     

Repressive Coping and Blood Measures of Disease Risk: Lipids and Endocrine and Immunological Responses to a Laboratory Stressor1

Relations between repressive coping and a variety of health‐related variahles including insulin, lipids, catecholamines, and cellular immune components, were investigated in a laboratory study of acute stress among a sample of healthy male college students (N ‐ 83). Compared to nonrepressors, at baseline, repressors had fewer numbers of circulating CD4 (T‐helper) cells, greater numbers of natural killer (NK) cells. lower high‐density lipoprotein (HDL), a higher total/HDL cholesterol ratio, and higher fasting insulin levels. In response to an acute laboratory stressor (Stroop Color Word Conflict Test). repressors demonstrated an attenuated increase in the number of circulating NK cells compared to nonrepressors. Confounds such as physical activity, age, and smoking were unrelated to the dependent measures.     

公务员正常高值血压的流行现状及危险因素分析

对吉林省516名公务员的血压及心血管疾病危险因素进行描述性分析,用二分类Logistic回归法筛选危险因素。公务员正常高值血压现患率为34．9％。正常高值血压人群体重指数、腰围、空腹血糖、总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、甘油三酯、血清肌酐、血尿酸、心一踝血管指数水平以及代谢综合征患病率均高于正常血压组低于高血压组,高密度...     

Lipid reactivity to stress: I. Comparison of chronic and acute stress responses in middle-aged airline pilots.

Lipids increase during psychological stress, but no studies have compared the effects of acute and chronic stressors on lipid responsivity in the same individuals. One hundred middle-aged men (n = 92) and women (n = 8) were examined during high chronic occupational stress, low chronic stress, and acute laboratory stressors. In addition to measures of perceived stress and affect, an extensive battery of lipid and lipoprotein measures was undertaken at each time point. Most lipid parameters were significantly increased during the chronic and acute stressors, although the responses to the different stressors were not consistently associated. For example, significant correlations among the chronic and acute stress responses were apparent for the apoproteins, but not for total, low density lipoprotein, or high density lipoprotein cholesterol. The factors and processes regulating these variables during stress may be different during acute and chronic stressors.     

Neuroticism and self-reported somatic health: a twin study

Using a twin sample (N?=?188; 53 monozygotic and 39 dizygotic twin pairs, and 4 single twins whose co-twin did not participate), this study sought (1) to estimate heritabilities of neuroticism and of somatic complaints rated on the basis of two different time frames ('the last week' vs. 'in general'); (2) to estimate the genetic association between neuroticism and the complaints indices and (3) to examine to what extent somatic complaints are aetiologically distinct from neuroticism. Using models with common additive genetic (A) and individual-specific environmental (E) factors, the heritabilities for neuroticism and complaints 'in general' and during 'the last week' were 0.46 (0.20-0.65), 0.44 (0.22-0.62), and 0.45 (0.22-0.63), respectively. Nearly 60% of the phenotypic correlation between neuroticism and somatic complaints were accounted for by A. Furthermore, a substantial part of the variance in somatic complaints was due to unique genetic and individual-specific environmental influences unrelated to neuroticism. These results suggest that somatic complaints are moderately heritable and that a considerable portion of the covariance between neuroticism and complaints measures is due to genetic factors. Yet, the findings also suggest that these two attributes are distinct entities with overlapping, but not identical, underlying genetic and environmental influences.     

Neuroticism, extraversion, and related traits in adult twins reared apart and reared together

The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors for neuroticism, extraversion, impulsivity, and monotony avoidance were estimated in a sample of 99 monozygotic and 229 dizygotic pairs of twins reared apart (TRA) and a matched sample of 160 monozygotic and 212 dizygotic pairs of twins reared together (TRT). The average age was 58.6 (SD = 13.6); 72% of the twins were 50 or older. Model-fitting analyses verified the importance of genetic factors for all four measures; from 23% to 45% of the total variation was attributable to genetic sources. There was considerable evidence that these factors were operating in a nonadditive manner for extraversion and impulsivity. Shared environment accounted for less than 10% of the variance; some evidence for selective placement was found for neuroticism.     

Opportunity recognition and the tendency to be an entrepreneur: A bivariate genetics perspective

We applied quantitative genetics techniques to a sample of 851 pairs of monozygotic and 855 pairs of dizygotic female twins to examine the influence of genetic factors on the variation across people in opportunity recognition. We also examined the extent to which the same genetic factors contribute to both opportunity recognition and the tendency to be an entrepreneur. We found substantial heritability for opportunity recognition (0.45), with no influence of the shared environment. Moreover, we found that 53% of the phenotypic correlation between opportunity recognition and the tendency to be an entrepreneur had a common genetic aetiology.