Coping With Stress may Improve HDL Levels

A new study has found evidence to suggest that people who cope with stress well may have higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels than people who let the stress affect them.

Scientists from the University of Hawaii (Manoa, HI, USA) examined 716 men, almost all of them white (average age of 65), who took part in a long-term study on aging. Each was asked to describe his most stressful situation encountered in the previous week and was asked to choose among 26 strategies for coping with stress. Those strategies were scored on the basis of hostility the men displayed and other characteristics. Blood samples were taken from the men after an overnight fast and measured for levels of HDL cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides.

The study found that lower levels of HDL were found in the men who used hostility as a coping strategy, and also in those demonstrating self-blame and self-isolation. Those strategies did slightly raise levels of triglycerides, but had no effect on LDL readings (which conversely often goes hand-in-hand with increases in HDL cholesterol). The researchers speculated that men who keep a level head and control their hostility avoid increasing levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which affect blood fat levels. The study was presented at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, held during August 2007 in San Francisco (CA, USA).

"The personality trait of emotional stability is protective against mortality. Those men who were good in self-regulation had higher HDL levels,” said lead author Loriena A. Yancura, Ph.D., a University of Hawaii psychologist.

LDL, considered "bad cholesterol, forms deposits on the artery walls, which produce plaque. HDL, the "good” cholesterol, on the other hand, removes excess cholesterol and carries it back to the liver to be excreted; high levels of HDL in the blood can decrease the risk of heart disease.


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