[Psychological aspects of the measures for lowering the cholesterol level in a population study].

Psychologic personality features influenced the participation of male subjects, aged 40-59, from Kaunas, in preventive procedures aiming to control hypercholesterolemia within a many-factor prophylactic program against coronary heart disease (CHD). A negative attitude to the recommendation to give up smoking and change dietary habits and physical behavior, demonstrated prior to the first medical examination, was indicative of a tendency to abstain from preventive procedures. According to the first medical check-up data, the abstaining individuals showed signs of somatic discomfort and psychologic stress more frequently. Unlike the voluntary participants, they had more marked difficulties in psychologic adaptation as assessed by the MMPI scale. The effectiveness of cholesterol-controlling measures also depended on the psychological makeup of the personality. A lower MMPI profile prevailed in those men whose increased cholesterol levels were eventually controlled.