The Type A behavior pattern and coronary heart disease among Japanese men in Hawaii

Abstract

This is a study of the association of Type A behavior with the prevalence and 8-year incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) among 2187 Japanese men in the Honolulu Heart Program cohort. Type A behavior was determined by the Jenkins Activity Survey questionnaire in 1970. The prevalence rate of total CHD was significantly associated with Type A behavior, and this association was independent of other major risk factors in multivariate analyses. With the incidence data, however, there was no significant association of any clinical type of CHD with Type A behavior. Examination of the relationship of Type A behavior to other risk factors showed significant associations with serum cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption. Pathologic findings among 48 men who died showed no association of Type A behavior with microscopic evidence of myocardial infarction or with grades of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries and aortas.