Type A behavior in healthy males and females as related to physiological reactivity and blood lipids.

Type A behavior was assessed in 30 men and 30 women (ages 30-50) by a Videotaped Structured Interview (VSI). Scores for total Type A behavior as well as subcomponents (competitiveness, time urgency, hostility) were examined in relation to cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity during a work day (change from a work-free day) and during laboratory-induced stress (change from resting condition). In addition, Type A and Type B males and females were compared with regard to total serum cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. The results showed relationships between 1) competitiveness/hostility and physiological reactivity at work in men, 2) total Type A behavior (and hostility) and serum cholesterol in men, and 3) hostility and serum cholesterol in women. As expected, the association between Type A behavior and physiological measurements was more pronounced for "extreme" Type A and B men and women (upper and lower 10 subjects, respectively) than for the total groups of each sex.