A new study has found that healthy people with high levels of anger, hostility or depression also have high blood levels of C-reactive protein, an indicator of inflammation of the arteries.

The study, published in the September issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, found that anger seems to predict an increased risk of heart disease in initially healthy individuals.

Two to three times higher CRP levels
Researchers tested C-reactive protein (CRP) blood levels in 121 healthy, nonsmoking men and women between 18 and 65 years of age. On the same day, they also measured each subject's level of anger, hostility and depression using a series of standard psychological tests.

Results showed that, in the absence of heart disease risk factors such as smoking, obesity and high blood pressure, high levels of negative emotional states significantly predicted the blood level of CRP. Researchers found that those who were prone to anger, hostility or depression had two to three times higher CRP levels than those with more positive emotional states.

Reference:

1. E. C. Suarez, “C-Reactive Protein is Associated with Psychological Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease in Apparently Healthy Adults,” Psychosomatic Medicine, 2004 66: 684-691.