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A quantitative analysis of the relationship between the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and traditional coronary artery

James Bunde1, Jerry Suls

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Spence Labs, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1407, USA.

Health Psychology : Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association
|July 19, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Hostility, measured by the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho Scale), is linked to coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors like obesity and smoking. This suggests psychological traits may influence cardiovascular health.

Area of Science:

  • Psychosomatic Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Epidemiology
  • Behavioral Cardiology

Background:

  • The Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho Scale) is associated with premature coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • Hostile individuals may exhibit elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.
  • Understanding this link requires examining specific risk factor associations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To meta-analytically evaluate the relationship between Ho Scale scores and various CAD risk factors.
  • To determine if hostility is associated with physiological and behavioral risk factors for CAD.
  • To identify potential mediating factors in the hostility-CAD association.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search for studies examining Ho Scale scores and CAD risk factors.
  • Application of fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models.
  • Assessment of heterogeneity and confidence in pooled effect sizes.

Main Results:

  • Significant positive associations were found between Ho Scale scores and body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, insulin resistance, lipid ratio, triglycerides, glucose, socioeconomic status (SES), alcohol consumption, and smoking.
  • Heterogeneity was present across study outcomes.
  • Random-effects models confirmed the robustness of these relationships.

Conclusions:

  • Hostility, as measured by the Ho Scale, is significantly associated with multiple established CAD risk factors.
  • Obesity, insulin resistance, adverse health behaviors (smoking, alcohol use), and SES are potential contributors to the link between hostility and CAD.
  • Further research should explore these factors to elucidate the hostility-CAD pathway.

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