Biobehavioral research on cardiovascular disorders.

Psychosocial and clinical risk factor profiles in managers

“…On the other hand, the DHP study showed that, in comparison with nearly all other professions, managers had the highest ratios of type A behaviour (Helmert 1996). To what extent this behaviour represents a risk factor for coronary heart disease is at least in some aspects questionable (Krantz 1989). But there is no doubt that type A behaviour is an important personal trait of many managers, who would not have achieved a leading position without this part of their personality.…”

Untangling the neurobiology of coping styles in rodents: Towards neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in disease susceptibility

“…Half a millennium later, Galenus picked out the melancholicus as being particularly prone to cancer and infectious diseases. Flash-forwarding to the 20th century, the hypothesis that personality influences the development and course of physical illness gained true momentum by the landmark studies of Friedman and Rosenman (1959), demonstrating that people which are hostile, easily angered, competitive, impatient and hard-driving (e.g., type "A" personality) are more prone to cardiovascular, metabolic and autoimmune diseases than their more relaxed type "B" counterparts (Friedman and Rosenman, 1971;Irvine et al, 1982;Dembroski and MacDougall, 1985;Krantz et al, 1989;Ravaja et al, 2000;Trigo et al, 2005;Smith and MacKenzie, 2006;Steptoe and Molloy, 2007;Sirri et al, 2012). In contrast, people with a more avoidant or passive coping style (so-called type "B" or "C" personality) that are characterized by behavioral patterns such as suppression of emotions (primarily anger), denial and avoidance of conflicts, were shown to have a higher risk for infectious diseases and cancer (Baltrusch et al, 1991;Zozulya et al, 2008).…”