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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A behavior pattern characterized by excessive competitiveness, impatience, hostility, and time urgency, known as Type A, has typically been investigated as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. The present paper evaluates the Type A pattern as a general risk factor for a wide variety of physical disorders. Research on Type A as a moderator of the effects of life stress on health is also reviewed. When Type A or physical health is measured with objective indicators, Type A does not emerge as a general risk factor for illness, with the following exceptions: Type A's are more likely to have accidents, to die from accidents or violence, and to incur cerebrovascular and peripheral atherosclerosis. In contrast, research relying on self-report measures of Type A and symptomatology find a consistent link between Type A behavior and a variety of minor illness and symptoms. There is little support for the notion that Type A is a potentiator of the effects of life events stress.
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PMID:Type A behavior as a general risk factor for physical disorder. 305 Jan 17

Complete evaluation of older patients with mental changes always leaves us with a certain percentage whose condition can only be attributed to atherosclerosis. Little is being done for these patients because this generalized stenosis of the brain does not reverse with any known treatment. This writer has treated many such patients with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO), and presents this case history, along with regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) studies, showing the type of changes which frequently occur. This case initially presented with symptoms of gross mental confusion, memory loss, both recent and remote, irrational speech and occasional violence. Although prior complete evaluations were concluded with no recommended treatment, the initial series of HBO treatment resulted in a well-functioning patient. This was maintained for four years with intermittent HBO. The patient then presented with acute stroke, total disorientation and confusion. He again became functional with HBO. A discussion of the mechanisms of HBO which might account for the changes is given.
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PMID:Generalized small-vessel stenosis in the brain. A case history of a patient treated with monoplace hyperbaric oxygen at 1.5 to 2 ATA. 688 86

A standardized method for examining hearts and coronary arteries was applied in a study of sudden deaths in 227 autopsies of New Orleans men aged 25-49 years. Of these autopsies, 102 deaths were due to external violence, 125 were from natural causes and 45 occurred suddenly. Of the sudden natural deaths, 14 (31%) were due to coronary heart disease (CHD), seven (16%) were possibly due to CHD and 24 (53%) were due to other causes without evidence of CHD. Large recent myocardial lesions (greater than or equal to 1 cm) were present in 19 (95%) of 20 CHD deaths and in 16 (18%) of 91 non-CHD deaths. The myocardial lesions in sudden CHD deaths were subendocardial involving preferentially the posterior septum and the apex of the heart. The lesions in non-sudden CHD deaths were transmural involving preferentially the anterior, lateral and posterior left ventricle and the base of the heart. Men who died of CHD had extensive coronary atherosclerosis, while those who died of other causes had minimal coronary atherosclerosis. The large proportion of CHD deaths which occurred suddenly (70%) reaffirms the need for primary prevention and the need for improved predictive factors for early detection of CHD.
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PMID:Sudden death, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis and myocardial lesions in young men. 743 90

An excess mortality for violence (suicides and injuries) has been observed following the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs. It has been suggested that low cholesterol is associated with depression by modifying the serotonin metabolism. In this paper, a new hypothesis concerning the association among serum lipids, depression, and atherosclerosis is proposed. The hypothesis is based on epidemiologic evidence concerning serum lipids, depression, violent deaths, and atherosclerosis. It is also based on previous results concerning a cytokine, interleukin-2. Recent observations indicate that interleukin-2 has an important role in lipid metabolism, depression, and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Hypothesis: low serum cholesterol, suicide, and interleukin-2. 863 24

Hypercholesterolemia is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Therefore, therapeutic lowering of cholesterol is an important preventive measure of cardiac morbidity and death. As one side effect, cholesterol-lowering drugs appear to increase the mortality due to suicides or violence, and low lipid concentrations were found to be associated with trait measures of depression. We compared serum cholesterol concentrations and the Beck Depression Rating Scale (Beck's score) in 604 otherwise healthy outpatients who visited the physician's office for a medical health check-up; 65.4% of individuals presented with serum cholesterol concentrations > or = 5.2 mmol/l (> 200 mg/dl) and 5.3% had elevated Beck's score (> 19), indicative for depression. Beck's score was higher in patients with cholesterol concentrations above the 75th percentile (= 6.2 mmol/l; U = 31221, p < 0.02, Mann-Whitney U-test), and Beck's score correlated with cholesterol concentrations and with age. Thus, in contrast to the widely accepted view, in our study, higher cholesterol concentrations were associated with signs of depressive mood. Hypercholesterolemia may not necessarily increase the risk of depressive mood, conversely, increased intake of fat and carbohydrates by individuals with depressive mood may increase cholesterol levels.
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PMID:Association between increased serum cholesterol and signs of depressive mood. 1288 Jan 47

A history of intimate partner violence (IPV) is linked to cardiovascular disorders among women. Static autonomic nervous system (ANS) imbalance may result from chronic stress associated with exposure to IPV. Autonomic nervous system imbalance is associated with an excessive proinflammatory response that may increase the risk for inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis. To better understand the process from IPV to poorer health outcomes in women diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) we developed and tested a biobehavioral model of the psychological and biological pathway from IPV to chronic illness. We hypothesized that among women hospitalized for ACS, those who reported sexual abuse, with or without physical abuse, would have greater alterations in their serum levels of neuroendocrine markers, proinflammatory cytokines, and cell adhesion molecules and a chemotactic cytokine, at time of hospitalization for ACS, and 3 and 6 months later, than do women with physical abuse only. Participants were 45 women, primarily African American, admitted to a county hospital with a diagnosis of ACS. We evaluated 11 biomarkers and found a moderate group effect size for vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. All others had a small effect size.
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PMID:Exploring violence against women and adverse health outcomes in middle age to promote women's health. 2055 37

Although stress is often hypothesized to contribute to the effects of neighborhoods on health, very few studies have investigated associations of neighborhood characteristics with stress biomarkers. This study helps address the gap in the literature by examining whether neighborhood characteristics are associated with cortisol profiles. Analyses were based on data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Stress study, which collected multiple measures of salivary cortisol over three days on a population based sample of approximately 800 adults. Multilevel models with splines were used to examine associations of cortisol levels with neighborhood poverty, violence, disorder, and social cohesion. Neighborhood violence was significantly associated with lower cortisol values at wakeup and with a slower decline in cortisol over the earlier part of the day, after sociodemographic controls. Associations were weaker and less consistent for neighborhood poverty, social cohesion, and disorder. Results revealed suggestive, though limited, evidence linking neighborhood contexts to cortisol circadian rhythms.
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PMID:Circadian rhythm of cortisol and neighborhood characteristics in a population-based sample: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. 2129 35

Hypothermia is a rare cause of death in Israel, and usually occurs among risk groups such as elderly people, homeless persons, psychiatric patients and persons who function in cold environments or are unintentionally exposed to such conditions. Death due to hypothermia generally occurs in extremely cold conditions, although ambient temperatures of 15-20 degrees C can also be lethal. The phenomenon of paradoxical undressing that characterizes death due to hypothermia rather occurs in moderate ambient temperatures, and takes place when the victim is in extremis. A case of death of an elderly man, whose body was found naked in a field, is reported. His head was covered with a shirt, and blunt injuries were found on his body, raising suspicion that he was smothered, or was a victim of sexual violence. On autopsy, spot hemorrhages of the gastric mucosa, which are characteristic of hypothermia, were found, along with mild cerebral atrophy, moderate atherosclerosis of the coronary and cerebral vessels and myocardial sclerosis. The combination of autopsy findings, elimination of traumatic injuries as contributors to death and the circumstances in which the body was found, led to the diagnosis of death due to hypothermia.
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PMID:[Death due to hypothermia and paradoxical undressing]. 2157 52

Feelings of hopelessness are prospectively associated with increased risk of death, progression of atherosclerosis and other health outcomes. Places as well as people may promote a sense of hopelessness. We used the Chicago Community Adult Health Study to investigate whether feelings of hopelessness cluster at the neighborhood level. Random-intercept logistic models were used to examine associations of hopelessness with neighborhood conditions (physical disorder and decay, perceived violence and disorder, social cohesion) and census-based measures of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions (poverty, unemployment, % high school dropouts) from 1980-2000. Of the 3074 participants, 459 were categorized as experiencing hopelessness. Greater physical disorder and perceived disorder and a higher unemployment rate were associated with increased odds of hopelessness. Individuals' reports of hopelessness reflect physical, socioeconomic, and opportunity characteristics of their neighborhoods above and beyond their individual characteristics. Changing opportunity structures in a neighborhood may play a key role in reducing individuals' feelings of hopelessness.
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PMID:Are there hopeless neighborhoods? An exploration of environmental associations between individual-level feelings of hopelessness and neighborhood characteristics. 2226 6

Physical and social features of neighborhoods, such as esthetic environments and social cohesion, change over time. The extent to which changes in neighborhood conditions are associated with changes in mental health outcomes has not been well-established. Using data from the MultiEthnic Study of Atherosclerosis, this study investigated the degree to which neighborhood social cohesion, stress, violence, safety and/or the esthetic environment changed between 2002 and 2007 in 103 New York City Census tracts and the associations of these changes with changes in depressive symptoms. Neighborhoods became less stressful, more socially cohesive, safer, and less violent. White, wealthy, highly educated individuals tended to live in neighborhoods with greater decreasing violence and stress and increasing social cohesion. Individuals living in neighborhoods with adverse changes were more likely to have increased CES-D scores, although due to limited sample size associations were imprecisely estimated (P>0.05). Changes in specific features of the neighborhood environment may be associated with changes in level of depressive symptoms among residents.
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PMID:Change in neighborhood environments and depressive symptoms in New York City: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. 2566 36


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