Covert coping with unfair treatment linked to cardiovascular disease in men

January 01, 0001

Covert coping with unfair treatment linked to cardiovascular disease in men

Covert coping with unfair treatment at work—occurring when an employee does not show the "aggressor" that he/she feels unfairly treated—has been found to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors. This study, a prospective cohort study (the WOLF Stockholm study) of workplaces in the Stockholm area, Sweden examined whether covert coping also predicts incident coronary heart disease.

Forty-seven participants had myocardial infarction or died from ischaemic heart disease during follow-up. After adjustment for age, socioeconomic factors, risk behaviours, job strain and biological risk factors at baseline, there was a dose-response relationship between covert coping and risk of incident myocardial infarction or cardiac death. Men who frequently used covert coping had a 2.29 times higher risk than those who did not use coping. Restricting the analysis to direct coping behaviours only strengthened this association.

The researchers concluded: "In this study, covert coping is strongly related to increased risk of hard-endpoint cardiovascular disease."

Covert coping appears to be a dysfunctional approach.


For the full abstract, click here.

J Epidemiol Community Health May 2011 65:420-425 © 2011 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
Covert coping with unfair treatment at work and risk of incident myocardial infarction and cardiac death among men: prospective cohort study. C Leineweber, H Westerlund, T Theorell et al. Correspondence to Constanze Leineweber: [email protected]

Category: K. Circulatory, P. Psychological Keywords: covert, coping, unfair treatment, work, risk, myocardial infarction, cardiac death, men, prospective cohort study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Melbourne, Australia. Posted on Global Family Doctor 20 May 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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