Stress & Hostility

[Dr. Adams]

Individuals with high stress and high hostility have an increased risk for insulin resistance. There is a statistical interaction between hostility and stress level in predicting insulin resistance. In other words, people with higher hostility don't always have worse insulin resistance, but they do when they are under stress, especially high levels of chronic stress. Cynicism is a particularly vulnerable personality trait that is strongly related to insulin resistance. Clinically, because people with high hostility (especially high cynicism) tend to have worse insulin resistance under stress, it is important to target this population for preventive interventions. Psychotherapy and behavioral interventions may be helpful in reducing stress and physiological arousal, and perhaps prevent insulin resistance in the long run, although so far there is no study testing this yet. Psychosom Med 2006;68:718-726.