Hostility Is Related to Blunted β-Adrenergic Receptor Responsiveness Among Middle-Aged Women

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Abstract
Objective: Based on previous findings in men, the hypothesis that hostility would be associated with blunted responsiveness of cardiovascular β-adrenergic receptors was tested in a study sample of middle-aged women. The roles of the sympathetic nervous system and of social support in this putative relationship were also evaluated. Methods: Subjects were 80 healthy women (n = 23 African American; n = 57 white), aged 47 to 55 years. Hostility was assessed using the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and social support was assessed with the Brief Social Support Questionnaire. Intravenous isoproterenol challenge was used to evaluate cardiac and vascular β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness. Twenty-four-hour urinary catecholamine excretion was used to index sympathetic nervous system activity. Results: Hostility was related to blunted cardiac (R = 0.33, p < .01) and vascular (R = 0.23, p < .05) β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness in simple correlation analysis and in hierarchical regression analyses controlling for race, menopausal status, weight, and resting heart rate. Low social support was also related to blunted β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness (R = 0.3, p < .01). Twenty-four-hour norepinephrine excretion was related both to hostility (R = 0.32, p < .01) and to cardiac (R = 0.25, p < .05) and vascular (R = 0.24, p < .05) β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness. Conclusions: These observations replicate and extend previous findings in men by demonstrating that higher levels of hostility and low levels of social support are associated with blunted β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness in middle-aged women. They also suggest that heightened sympathetic nervous system activity associated with hostility may contribute to β-adrenergic receptor blunting. Because blunted β-adrenergic receptor sensitivity is a characteristic feature of a broad range of cardiovascular diseases, these findings may reflect an early preclinical manifestation of pathophysiology accompanying hostility and low social support.