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Vital exhaustion in relation to lifestyle and lipid profile in healthy women

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Abstract

“Vital exhaustion,” characterized by fatigue, irritability, and demoralization, precedes new and recurrent coronary events. Biological mechanisms explaining this association are not fully understood. The objective was to investigate the relationship between vital exhaustion, lifestyle, and lipid profile. Vital exhaustion, smoking, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, exercise capacity, and serum lipids were determined in 300 healthy women, aged 56.4 ± 7.1 years. No statistically significant associations were found between vital exhaustion and lifestyle variables. Divided into quartiles, vital exhaustion was inversely related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A1 in a linear fashion after adjustment for age, BMI, exercise capacity, and alcohol consumption. A multivariate-adjusted vital exhaustion-score in the top quartile, as compared to one in the lowest, was associated with 12% lower HDL-C and8% lower apolipoprotein A1(p < .05). Inconclusion, alterations in lipid metabolism may be a possible mediating mechanism between vital exhaustion and coronary heart disease. The impact of lifestyle variables was weak.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Preventive Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Norrbacka, Level 6, S-171 76, Stockholm, Sweden

    Jenny C. Koertge & Staffan Ahnve

  2. Department of Medicine Cariology Unit, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm

    Karin Schenck-Gustafsson

  3. Division of Psychosocial Factors and Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

    Kristina Orth-Gomér

  4. The Swedish National Institute of Public Health, Stockholm

    Sarah P. Wamala

Authors
  1. Jenny C. Koertge
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  2. Staffan Ahnve
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  3. Karin Schenck-Gustafsson
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  4. Kristina Orth-Gomér
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  5. Sarah P. Wamala
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jenny C. Koertge.

Additional information

This study was made possible by the following support sources: US National Institutes of Health (HL45785); Swedish Medical Research Council (B93-19X-10407); Swedish Labor Market Insurance Company; and the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation.

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Koertge, J.C., Ahnve, S., Schenck-Gustafsson, K. et al. Vital exhaustion in relation to lifestyle and lipid profile in healthy women. Int. J. Behav. Med. 10, 44–55 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327558IJBM1001_04

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327558IJBM1001_04

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