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K A Matthews

Publications and source records attributed to K A Matthews.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Cardiovascular reactivity to the cold pressor test as a predictor of hypertension.

Cardiovascular reactivity to stress is hypothesized to be a marker for subsequent neurogenic cardiovascular disease, but few prospective studies of this hypothesis are available. We studied 910 white male medical students who had their blood pressure and pulse rate measured before and during a cold pressor test in the years 1948-1964. Hypertensive status (requiring drug treatment) was ascertained by annual questionnaires in the 20- to 36-year follow-up period. An association was observed between maximum change in systolic blood pressure and later hypertension, with a cumulative incidence of hypertension by age 44 of 6.7%, 3.0%, and 2.4% for a change in systolic blood pressure in the upper, middle two, and lowest quartiles, respectively (Kaplan-Meier, p less than 0.02). After adjustment for study entry age, Quetelet Index, cigarette smoking, pretest systolic blood pressure, and paternal or maternal history of hypertension in a Cox model, the association persisted. The excess risk associated with systolic blood pressure reactivity was not apparent until the population aged some 20 years and was most apparent among those in whom hypertension developed before age 45 (relative risk = 2.5, 95% confidence intervals = 1.47, 4.71 for a 20 mm Hg change). Diastolic blood pressure and heart rate changes were not associated with later hypertension. These data suggest that persons prone to later hypertension manifest an altered physiology at a young age.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Interactive effects of behavior and reproductive hormones on sex differences in risk for coronary heart disease.

It is well known that women in the United States, as in most industrialized countries in the world, are protected from coronary heart disease (CHD), relative to men. It is thought that this protection is by and large due to the effects of female reproductive hormones (i.e., estrogens) on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and blood pressure, although women's relatively low rates of cigarette smoking are also thought to play a role. However, epidemiological studies that statistically adjust for sex differences in lipids, blood pressure, and smoking status cannot explain sex differences in CHD morbidity and mortality. Also, inconsistent with a simple main-effect model of reproductive hormones are data showing elevated risk of myocardial infarction and stroke among women who use oral contraceptives. Men who are prescribed estrogens have elevated risk of CHD, and case-control studies show that male CHD patients have elevated estradiol, compared to controls. This article suggests that simple main-effect models of female protection from CHD are inadequate. It argues that reproductive hormones are important determinants of protection from CHD, in interaction with behavioral characteristics. It also demonstrates that reproductive hormones can influence behavioral characteristics and that behavioral characteristics can influence the effects of reproductive hormones on CHD risk factors.

Arousal↗
PubMed1989

Are sociodemographic variables markers for psychological determinants of health?

Argues that the robust associations between sociodemographic variables and the major causes of morbidity and mortality are due in part to correlated psychological factors. To make this case concrete, the article reviews the psychological determinants of morbidity and mortality that are correlated with educational attainment and sex. It discusses the importance of health psychologists' studies of age, sex, ethnicity, and educational/occupational status to understanding why, how, and in whom psychological factors are contributors to disease.

Educational Status↗
PubMed1988

Characteristics of noncontraceptive hormone users.

Because noncontraceptive hormone use is not randomly distributed in the population, selection factors for hormone use need to be critically examined to clarify the nature of the relationship between hormone exposure and disease endpoints. The characteristics of hormone users were examined using sociodemographic and health-related information obtained in a telephone survey of 2,137 women (ages 40-52), randomly selected from a driver's license list of Pittsburgh area women. Results showed that 6% of the women surveyed reported current noncontraceptive hormone use, and that 71% of the users had undergone hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy, hereafter called the surgical group. Among all women, hormone users were older and thinner than nonusers, and the frequency of use was two times as high among whites than among blacks. Because rates of use varied dramatically by surgical status, separate univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted for women with and without a hysterectomy/oophorectomy. Body mass index was inversely related to hormone use, and alcohol consumption was positively related to hormone use among both groups. Whites had higher rates of hormone use than blacks among women with hysterectomy/oophorectomy, and a higher level of education was positively related to hormone use among nonsurgical women. The findings show that the distribution of hormone use varies markedly in the community by surgical status, body mass index, race, education, and alcohol use.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Developmental consequences of mutations in the 84B alpha-tubulin gene of Drosophila melanogaster.

Developmental effects of six mutations in the gene encoding the majority of alpha-tubulin in all tissues at all stages of Drosophila melanogaster development have been examined. All six alleles produce at least partially stable alpha 84B protein. In genetic assays, two of these alleles approximate the null condition. The other four alleles appear to form a graded series of hypomorphs. The two most severe alleles produce a semidominant maternal-effect polyphasic lethality, plus a predominantly larval recessive zygotic lethality. Clonal analysis of one of these alleles suggests it is a cell lethal. Worsening of the lethal phenotype (negative complementation) occurs in most interallelic heterozygotes involving these two mutations. As hemizygotes, the other four alleles are predominantly larval/pupal lethals. Partial complementation is achieved by most interallelic heterozygotes involving these four alleles. Phenotypic defects associated with the six tubulin mutation include disrupted embryos, pseudopupae, pharate adults with defects in various cuticular pattern elements, pharate adults with retarded head development, adults with leg tremors and extremely short life spans, and viable but sterile adults with bristle defects.

Alleles↗
PubMed1987

Type A behavior pattern, parental history of hypertension, and cardiovascular reactivity in college males.

Two risk factors for cardiovascular disorders, parental history of hypertension and the Type A behavior pattern, were investigated concurrently with respect to cardiovascular reactivity to challenging situations. Sixty-four college males were given both the Structured Interview (SI) and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) for the Type A behavior pattern and a family health questionnaire to determine parental history of hypertension. The students were monitored for blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and pulse transit time (PTT) response to four tasks: cold pressor, isometric handgrip exercise, a reading comprehension task, and backwards digit span. Type As based on SI classification had significantly higher HR levels across all tasks than did Type Bs, as well as higher diastolic BP levels in the cold pressor task. No main effects for Type A-B using JAS classification were found. Positive parental history students had higher HR and shorter PTT levels across all the tasks. Type A and parental history did interact in a limited way on some tasks, but the interactions were also dependent on the Type A classification used.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Stressful work conditions and diastolic blood pressure among blue collar factory workers.

The authors examined the relationships between stressful work conditions and diastolic blood pressure among blue collar men employed in similar occupational settings. The study population consisted of 288 male, hourly workers, aged 40-63 years, employed for a minimum of 10 years at one of two plants in the metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in January 1980. Blood pressure was assessed by the random zero muddler method by trained nurses at screenings between March 1981 and August 1982; 47 men who received pharmacologic treatment for previously diagnosed hypertension were excluded from the analyses. Multiple regression analyses showed that ratings of six (of 15) stressful work conditions as well as overall job dissatisfaction were significant predictors of diastolic blood pressure, controlling for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking habits, family history of hypertension, and severe noise-induced hearing loss. Men with elevated diastolic blood pressure reported having little opportunity for promotion and for participating in decisions at work, an uncertain job future, unsupportive coworkers and foreman, difficulties communicating with others, and overall dissatisfaction with the job. Additional stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that overall job satisfaction was related to low diastolic pressure among men from the plant rated as having overall good work conditions. These results are noteworthy because they support the importance of stressful work conditions and psychological reactions to those conditions in understanding the epidemiology of hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Stability of overt type A behaviors in children: results from a two- and five-year longitudinal study.

The stability of Type A behaviors in children was evaluated in a 2- and 5-year longitudinal study. Type A behaviors were rated by the children's classroom teachers using the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH). MYTH ratings were obtained annually for 3 years on children from 3 inner-city parochial schools (initial N = 317) and for 6 years on children from 3 suburban public schools (initial N = 434). Participants were predominantly Caucasian and in grades K, 2, 4, and 6 when the project began in 1979. Correlations for total Type A scores for the 2-year follow-up period were .38 and .45 in the suburban and urban samples, respectively, collapsing across grade and sex. There were no significant differences in the magnitude of correlations between the samples or between sex or grade subgroups within each sample. The correlation for total Type A score for the 5-year follow-up period was .39 in the suburban sample, and no differences in the magnitude of the correlations between sex or grade subgroups were found. The stability of children's Type A behaviors across 2 and 5 years compares favorably to the stability of other cardiovascular risk factors in children.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Blood pressure determinants in a middle-class black population: the University of Pittsburgh experience.

The relationship between blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, smoking, Type A behavior, anger, stress, geographic mobility, and socioeconomic status was assessed in 173 black college freshmen ages 16-22. In comparison with the overall black population of the United States, these students were generally from better educated, relatively affluent, black families. Among women, body mass index was a positive, independent predictor of systolic blood pressure, whereas alcohol consumption and state anger were inverse, independent predictors. Geographic mobility was found to be a positive, independent predictor of diastolic blood pressure among women. Among men, body mass index and heart rate were independent, positive predictors of systolic blood pressure. This study demonstrates important correlations between biological and psychosocial factors and blood pressure in an understudied population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Type A behavior in children: demographic, behavioral, and physiological correlates.

This article provides descriptive data on the Type A behavior pattern from an urban, biracial sample of 8 to 10-year-old children from Minneapolis. Type A behavior was assessed using the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH). High MYTH scores were more prevalent in males relative to females and in black males relative to white males. Parent self-reports suggested that Type A children were more outgoing, talkative, and physically active than Type B children; they were more aggressive in their interactions with others and were more likely to experience a greater number of aversive significant life events than Type B children. No differences in resting heart rate, diastolic or systolic blood pressures were found between Type A and Type B children; there were no differences on measures of the family environment. These results provide additional evidence for the construct validity of the MYTH and offer new information on the correlates of Type A behavior in children.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1986

Family characteristics and school achievements of type A children.

We examined the familial characteristics of Type A children and the consequences of Type A behaviors for children's classroom achievements. A maximum of 156 boys and 190 girls enrolled in elementary and middle schools and their parents participated in various aspects of the data collection procedures and analyses reported in this article. Results showed that Type A children were not more likely to have families with a history of cardiovascular-related diseases or families of upper socioeconomic status. Young Type A boys, but not girls, had Type A mothers and fathers, suggesting an early modeling of Type A behaviors by boys. Competitive boys and girls and Type A girls had higher achievement test scores and classroom grades, independent of IQ test scores, than did relatively noncompetitive children and Type B girls, respectively. Thus, the competitive aspect of Type A leads to important early achievements, independent of ability, perhaps because care givers and teachers respond to Type A behaviors of children by encouraging them to continue to strive to achieve. Gender differences in the findings were also discussed and related to the adult literature.

Achievement↗