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Apolipoprotein E Phenotypes and Cardiovascular Responses to Experimentally Induced Mental Stress in Adolescent Boys

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Abstract

We investigated the relationship between apolipoprotein E (apoE) polymorphism and cardiovascular responses to experimentally induced mental stress. Mental stress was induced in 28 healthy 16-year-old boys with a series of stressors (e.g., mental arithmetic, Stroop Color-Word Interference Test). Heart rate (HR), finger blood volume, and skin conductance level were recorded continuously during the task performance. We found that boys with apoE3/2 or apoE3/3 showed marginally significantly greater HR reactivity and significantly greater task levels of HR and HR variability (HRV) during the mental stress than subjects with apoE4/2, apoE4/3, or apoE4/4. In addition, E4/2, E4/3, and E4/4 subjects manifested a distinct stress-related decrease in HRV relative to baseline values while E3/2 and E3/3 subjects showed a slight increase. The results suggests that apoE polymorphism is associated with cardiovascular responsivity to mental stress in adolescent boys.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Niklas Ravaja, Katri Räikkönen & Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Heikki Lyytinen

  3. Tampere University Hospital, Department of Clinical Chemistry and Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Terho Lehtimäki

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  1. Niklas Ravaja
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Ravaja, N., Räikkönen, K., Lyytinen, H. et al. Apolipoprotein E Phenotypes and Cardiovascular Responses to Experimentally Induced Mental Stress in Adolescent Boys. J Behav Med 20, 571–587 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025518524884

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