The relation of social support and working environment to medical variables associated with elevated blood pressure...

The object of the present study was to examine the interaction of working environment factors and the individual social support network with medical variables related to blood pressure elevations in young (mean age = 28 years) hypertensives. The results of path analyses reveal that the medical variables which explained a significant amount of the variation in systolic blood pressure were blood hemoglobin, plasma adrenaline and relative weight. High relative weight was associated with a low level of employment security and high plasma adrenaline with a poor self-reported social network as well as a job providing few possibilities for learning new things. High levels of diastolic pressure were associated with elevated hemoglobin levels, increased heart rate and low plasma renin activity. Increased heart rate was influenced by a lack of 'anger' coping in conflict situations at work and a low number of contacts with acquaintances. Working environment and social support are hypothesized to assert their influence through increased sympathetic stimulation mediated by limbic-hypothalamic discharge.