Washington, Aug 20 (ANI): White men who cope better with stress have higher levels of so-called “good cholesterol” than men who are more hostile or socially isolated a new study has found.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, who analysed 716 men with the average age of 65, who participated in the Normative Aging Study.

Lead researcher on the study was Loriena A. Yancura, PhD.

The researchers looked at complex interrelations among hostility, stress and coping processes and cholesterol levels.

Most of the men were white and were evenly split between white-collar and blue-collar occupations, who were asked to fill in a questionnaire about how often they used 26 coping strategies.

The researchers noted that men high in hostility were more likely to perceive problems as stressful and react with negative behavior, self-blame and social isolation.

Following an overnight fast, the subjects’ blood was tested for high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol), low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides.

The authors had theorized that hostility would have an effect on all three lipoproteins, but what they found was a direct effect on HDL and triglycerides, but not on LDL.

“It is interesting that the coping variables were most strongly associated with this protective factor. The results of our study suggest that coping processes also might influence lipid fractions differently and may play a protective role through their influence on HDL,” they wrote.

The study was released at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. (ANI)