Life stress, social support and coronary heart disease

Objective: The aim of this paper is to review the relationship between life-event stress, social support and coronary heart disease. Method: A literature search from 1978 to early 1999 using Medline, PsychINFO and EMBASE databases was performed. It focused largely on prospective studies. Results: Both life-event stressors and inadequate social supports assessed by a variety of indicators are risk factors for acute coronary heart disease events. Poor social support does not particularly appear to moderate the relationship of life stress to coronary heart disease but rather both appear to be independent risk factors. Conclusion: While life-event stress and poor social supports are risk factors, the exact mechanism by which they impact on heart disease is not as yet well elicited, although disturbance in mood would appear to be the most likely intervening variable.