[The influence of psychological factors on the integral health characteristic (data from a prospective population...

To develop integral assessment of the health status based on the examination of representative samples from different regions of Russia (Veliky Novgorod, Nizhni-Novgorod, Vologda, Omsk and Nalchik) with the use of special questionnaires and simple anthropometric and functional methods in the framework of a prospective 3-year population study of organized groups.

The above questionnaires allowed to elucidate the socio-economic status of the patients, their somatic and psychological conditions (lifestyle index or psychological protection mechanisms (PPM), social adaptation, sanogenic reflexia; also used were Eysenck's psychotism scale, hospital anxiety and depression scale, the perceived stress scale (PSS), and moral potential of personality development scale.

It was shown that the profile of psychological protection mechanisms is dominated by primitive reactions, such as projection, protection, and negation. Most subjects from the sample formed the pathogenic type of reflexia (inability to resolve a problem situation based on the cognitive components of the patient's mental state). Mathematical treatment of the so-called "simple cross-tabulation" with unification of all negative PPM revealed the highly significant relationship of LSI (not norm) with most previous somatic diseases (p<0.001), i.e. the history of myocardial infarction, angina of effort, cardiovascular syndromes, diabetes, hypertension, chronic broncho-pulmonary, hepatic, gastrointestinal, urogynecological, oncological, and psychic diseases. (p<0.007).

Pyschological changes have greater influence than somatic ones on physiological parameters determining the population health status which suggests the necessity of taking them into account when planning health promotion measures.