Brain, behaviour, and Immunity (vol 21, issue 6, autumn 2007) has just published a report that anger causes real damage to the immune system.

The paper by Stephen H Boyle, William G Jackson, and Edward C Suarez based at Duke University,NC. Researchers studying 313 healthy Vietnam veterans have found that anger and hostility may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Stuart Goldenberg in the New York Times wrote the following: Hostility, Anger, and Depression Predict Increases in C3 Over a 10-year Period (Brain, Behavior and Immunity). Over a period of 10 years, the men had regular physical examinations involving a wide variety of medical tests. They also underwent psychological examinations using well-established questionnaires to determine their levels of hostility, anger and depression.

The researchers measured blood levels of a protein called C3, a marker for the inflammation that is a risk factor for cardiovascular illnesses. After controlling for other variables, the scientists found that those in the highest one-quarter in hostility, anger, and depression showed a steady and significant increase in C3 levels, while those in the lowest one-quarter had no increase.

“This may put those men at increased risk for hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease,” said Stephen H. Boyle, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Duke University Medical Center. Why these increases in C3 levels happen is unknown, but the authors speculate that anger in hostile and depressed men initiates a series of chemical responses in the immune system that lead to inflammation.Taking steps to control hostility may be helpful. “There are interventions that appear to be useful in lowering levels of anger,” Dr. Boyle said. “I don’t know if their long-term effects on physiology have been tested, but if you’re less angry and hostile, that in itself is a worthy goal.”

As one of the major results of work stress is sudden outbursts of anger the idea that a protein marker can be controlled is a very interesting one. It would be interesting to see whether a practical and simple indicator for C3 can be developed that would allow individuals to judge their own anger awareness.