Anger, anxiety, and depression as risk factors for cardiovascular disease: the problems and implications of overlapping affective dispositions.

Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. jerry-suls@uiowa.edu

Several recent reviews have identified 3 affective dispositions--depression, anxiety, and anger-hostility--as putative risk factors for coronary heart disease. There are, however, mixed and negative results. Following a critical summary of epidemiological findings, the present article discusses the construct and measurement overlap among the 3 negative affects. Recognition of the overlap necessitates the development of more complex affect-disease models and has implications for the interpretation of prior studies, statistical analyses, prevention, and intervention in health psychology and behavioral medicine. The overlap among the 3 negative dispositions also leaves open the possibility that a general disposition toward negative affectivity may be more important for disease risk than any specific negative affect.

PMID: 15740422 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]