ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Chronic stress, cynical distrust and depression may be linked with higher levels of inflammation related to heart disease, says a U.S. study.
Research has highlighted the importance of inflammation in the initiation and development of arteriosclerosis and in the precipitation of cardiovascular events, according to Nalini Ranjit of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Ranjit and colleagues used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Arteriosclerosis, a study of 6,814 men and women who were between the ages of 45 and 84 when they enrolled between 2000 and 2002.
Blood samples obtained at the initial examination were analyzed for IL-6, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, all markers for inflammation.
"The strongest and most consistent associations were observed for cynical distrust, which was positively associated with all three inflammatory markers," the authors write in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Chronic stress was positively associated with the IL-6 level and had a moderately positive association with the CRP level, whereas depression was associated only with the IL-6 level."
