The long range goal of this proposal is to better understand the relationship between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular disease among men of Japanese ancestry. The Honolulu Heart Program (HHP) as accumulated a massive data base on 8006 men of Japanese ancestry beginning in 1965. These data, and additional data to be collected on this cohort will enable assessment of: (1) the role of four psychosocial variables (stressful life events, Jenkins Type A behavior patterns, ethnic identity, and social networks) in the development of atherosclerosis in the major vessels; (2) the effects of the same four psychosocial variables in the prognosis of coronary heart disease and stroke; (3) the relationship between ethnic identification and incidence of cardiovascular disease; (4) the relationship between Jenkins Type A behavior patterns and incidence of major chronic diseases including coronary heart disease and stroke; (5) the effects of occupational retirement status on the incidence of major chronic diseases including coronary heart disease and stroke; and, (6) the effects of death of a spouse and remarriage on the incidence of major chronic diseases including coronary heart disease and stroke. Taken together these studies, which are prospective in design, should provide and extremely detailed analysis of the role of psychosocial factors in cardiovascular disease and other illness, in a large cohort for which unusually complete records are available. The present proposal should thus provide a very valuable analysis of the relationship between psychosocial factors and health- impacting behaviors. In addition to the research described above, this proposal will also provide a formal retraining program in cardiovascular epidemiology for the PI. A three year curriculum including courses from faculty in several schools of the University of Hawaii will augment bi-annual meetings at NHLBI, meetings with the program consultant, and the training provided by the research mentor.
