Vital Signs: Behavior: Hostility May Raise Risk for Disease - from NYT > Health

Researchers studying 313 healthy Vietnam veterans have found that anger and hostility may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Over a period of 10 years, the men had regular physical examinations involving a wide variety of medical tests. They also underwent psychological examinations using well-established questionnaires to determine their levels of hostility, anger and depression.
The researchers measured blood levels of a protein called C3, a marker for the inflammation that is a risk factor for cardiovascular illnesses. After controlling for other variables, the scientists found that those in the highest one-quarter in hostility, anger and depression showed a steady and significant increase in C3 levels, while those in the lowest one-quarter had no increase.

“This may put those men at increased risk for hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease,” said Stephen H. Boyle, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Duke University Medical Center.