The effects of recent food, alcohol, and tobacco intake and the temporal scheduling of testing on cardiovascular activity at rest and during psychological stress |
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| Authors: | DAVID SHEFFIELD GEORGE DAVEY SMITH DOUGLAS CARROLL MARTIN J. SHIPLEY MICHAEL G. MARMOT |
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| Affiliation: | Center for Environmental Medicine and Lung Biology. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. USA;Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol. UK;School of Sport and Exercise Science. University of Birmingham, Birmingham. UK;Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. University College London Medical School, London, UK |
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| Abstract: | Participants in cardiovascular psychophysiological studies receive various instructions regarding restraints on alcohol, food, and tobacco intake prior to testing. Further, although the hour of testing is frequently a concern, little attention is paid to month of the year. In the present study, we examined cardiovascular activity at rest and in response to a laboratory stress task in 1,272 men in terms of these variables. Alcohol consumption among alcohol users and food intake within 4 hr of testing were associated with higher baseline diastolic blood pressure (BP) but lower baseline heart rate (HR). Tobacco use in smokers within 1 hr of testing was associated with elevated baseline BP and HR. Hour of testing was related to baseline HR, whereas month of the year was associated with baseline BP. In contrast to these baseline effects, cardiovascular reactions to the laboratory stress task were largely immune to these contextual influences. |
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| Keywords: | Blood pressure Heart rate Alcohol food and tobacco intake Time of day and month of year of testing |
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