Increased plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy people with hostile behavior: the ATTICA study

One of the psychological factors showing significant association with the development of coronary heart disease is hostility. However, the pathway by which hostility may affect coronary risk is not fully understood. Thus we evaluated the association between hostility and inflammation (thrombotic marker) in a population-based sample of males and females with no clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. The ATTICA study is a health and nutrition survey carried out in the province of Attica, Greece, during 2001-2002. 410 participants (200 men 39+/-12 years old, and 210 women 35+/-10 years old) completed the Hostility and Direction of Hostility questionnaire (range 0-55) and had blood taken for the assessment of high sensitivity C--reactive protein, fibrinogen, white blood cell counts, and plasma homocysteine concentrations. 111 (27%) of the participants were classified in the upper quartile of the hostility scale (>21 score) and 119 (29%) were classified in the lower quartile (