Hostility hurts the lungs, study finds
The more mean-spirited and frustrated the person, the lower the pulmonary function
SHARON KIRKEY, CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
Hostility might make your lungs sick, according to new research that has found that young adults with short fuses have impaired lung function.
"What's really remarkable (is that) some of the associations were greater than being a current smoker," said lead author Benita Jackson, an assistant professor of psychology at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.
In a study of more than 4,600 18- to 30-year-olds, Jackson's team found the more hostile, frustrated and mean-spirited the personality, the lower the pulmonary function.
In other words, "it appears harbouring hostility hurts," according to the study, published today in the journal Health Psychology.
Adjusting for asthma and smoking didn't change the findings.
In an earlier study of older white men, Jackson's team found that hostility appeared to accelerate natural aging of the lungs. The more rapid the decline in lung function, the sooner people die.
This is the first detailed study to look at younger people, where lung function should be at its peak. "What's remarkable about these findings is that even at a time that's supposed to be one of relative stability and good health in lung functioning, we can see decrements already," Jackson said in an interview.
She contends the effects of hostility, like smoking, accumulate over the years, gradually gnawing away at health.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a progressive and only partially reversible condition that causes swollen and partially blocked airways, reducing airflow to the lungs. It is a major cause of death and disability in Canada and throughout the world.
Smoking, air pollution at work or in the environment, infections in childhood and family history are all known risk factors, but they don't explain the differences in who develops COPD, Jackson said.
The study involved 4,629 people from four U.S. urban centres: Minneapolis, Birmingham, alpha lipoic acid., Chicago and Oakland, Calif.
Researchers measured and tested several times how much each person could blow out in one second with his or her nose clipped after taking the deepest breath possible.
"These are really objective measures. It's not just someone saying: 'I don't breathe that well,' " Jackson said.
Next, participants filled out a 50-item questionnaire that tapped into hostile attitudes. It also measured just how cynical people are and how quick to anger.
Each incremental increase in hostility was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in lung function for black women, white women and black men.
The association was weakest for young white men, a finding Jackson found puzzling, given her earlier research with older men. "The data suggest a lag effect for white men," she said.
It might be a function of social status. If an executive flies off the handle, he or she might be viewed as authoritative and powerful. On the other hand, someone with lower social status who shows anger might be seen as impudent and out of line. That might result in higher levels of internalized stress that can make him or her sick.
The study doesn't say what comes first, the hostility or the weaker lungs. But other studies have suggested hostility can interrupt the normal functioning of the body's immune and hormonal systems.
Even being a current smoker didn't show the same association with lung function in the relatively young and healthy people who were tested.
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007
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