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Psychosomatic Medicine 32:523-542 (1970)
© 1970 American Psychosomatic Society

An Identical Twin Study of Psychosocial Factors in Coronary Heart Disease in Sweden

INGVAR LILJEFORS MD1 and CDR RICHARD H. RAHE MC, USNR1

1 Department of Medicine, The Seraphimer Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, Fleet Problems & Biochemical Correlates Division, US Navy Medical Neuropsychiatric Research Unit San Diego, Calif.

Address for reprint requests: Cdr Richard H. Rahe, MC, USNR, Department of the Navy, Navy Medical NP Research Unit, San Diego, Calif 92152

Thirty-two pairs of Swedish identical male twins, 42-67 years old, who were discordant for coronary heart disease (CHD), were analyzed for variability in subjects' psychosocial patterns regarding their work, lack of leisure, home problems and life dissatisfactions. Subjects' psychosocial scores for all these four categories significantly differentiated those subjects who had had previous infarction from their less CHD afflicted brother. Subjects' four psychosocial categories consistently demonstrated the hypothesized relationship to their CHD severity; the life dissatisfactions category provided highest (significant) correlation with CHD severity. In contrast, correlations run between subjects' various medical history and physical examination data (smoking, obesity, cholesterol and so forth) and their CHD severity was inconsistent and of low orders (insignificant) of magnitude.

Submitted on October 17, 1969
Revised on May 28, 1970




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Psychosom Med, February 1, 2008; 70(2): 133 - 140.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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