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A Methodological Approach to Non-invasive Assessments of Vascular Function and Morphology
Published on: February 7, 2015
Cognitive Avoidant Coping Is Associated with Higher Carotid Intima Media Thickness Among Middle-Aged Adults
Andreas R Schwerdtfeger1,2, Hubert Scharnagl3, Tatjana Stojakovic3
1Department of Psychology, Health Psychology Unit, University of Graz, Graz, Austria. andreas.schwerdtfeger@uni-graz.at.
Background:
Cognitive avoidant coping (CAV) has been associated with elevated autonomic stress reactivity, thus presumably elevating risk for cardiovascular diseases. However, more direct evidence for this hypothesis is lacking.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to relate carotid intima media thickness (IMT) to CAV in nonclinical participants.
Methods:
A total of 124 participants (61 women) with a mean age of 37.52 years (SD = 7.93, MIN = 30, MAX = 60) participated in the study. IMT was assessed by ultrasonic imaging and CAV via questionnaire (Mainz Coping Inventory; MCI).
Results:
Regression analysis revealed that although CAV was not significantly associated with IMT, there was a significant interaction of CAV and age. Whereas for younger adults, there was no significant relation for older individuals, CAV and IMT were significantly positively associated.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that CAV could constitute a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases with increasing age.
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