Haemodynamic reactions to acute psychological stress and smoking status in a large community sample

Citation

Phillips AC, Der G, Hunt K & Carroll D (2009) Haemodynamic reactions to acute psychological stress and smoking status in a large community sample. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 73 (3), pp. 273-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.04.005

Abstract
Exaggerated haemodynamic reactions to acute psychological stress have been implicated in a number of adverse health outcomes. This study examined, in a large community sample, the cross-sectional associations between haemodynamic reactivity and self-reported smoking status. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured at rest and in response to a 3-minute arithmetic stress task. Participants were classified as current, ex-, or non-smokers by their response to a simple prompt. Smokers had significantly smaller SBP and DBP reactions to acute stress than ex- and non-smokers; current and ex-smokers had lower HR reactivity. These effects remained significant following adjustment for a host of variables likely to be associated with reactivity and/or smoking. Although the act of smoking acutely increases haemodynamic activity, the present findings contribute to a growing body of literature showing that smokers have blunted reactivity to mental stress. They also support the hypothesis that blunted reactivity may be characteristic of a range of dependencies. The present results also suggest that smoking status needs to be considered in the design and analysis of stress reactivity studies. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords
Acute psychological stress; Blood pressure; Cardiovascular reactivity; Heart rate; Smoking

Journal
International Journal of Psychophysiology: Volume 73, Issue 3

• Haemodynamic reactions to acute psychological stress and smoking status in a large community sample