Byrne D G, Whyte H M
Psychosom Med. 1980 Jan;42(1):1-10. doi: 10.1097/00006842-198001000-00001.
This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that patients with MI are distinguished from persons with a less serious illness, more by subjective interpretations of the emotional impact of life events than by exposure to a surfeit of life events that purportedly representative samples of the population have judged to be inherently stressful. Life events data consisting of frequency of events in the year prior to illness onset, cumulative weights of life change and distress derived from magnitude estimation scales, and visual analogue scales assessing the individually interpreted impact of events were collected for 120 patients with unequivocal MI, and contrasted with the same data collected for 40 patients admitted to coronary care but rapidly discharged without a diagnosis of MI or other serious illness. Differences between the two groups were not evident for life event frequency, magnitude estimation scales of life change and distress, or individual impact scales of life change. Individual impact scales of emotional distress did, however, distinguish between the two groups at a statistically significant level, suggesting that patients with MI have interpreted their life event exposure in the year prior to illness onset as being particularly emotionally distressing. While there may be methodological criticism of the research strategy used in the study, it is suggested that due regard for the experiential uniqueness of life event data has strengthened the relationship between life events and MI, which would not have become apparent with the application of a more conservative research strategy.
与病情较轻者相比，心肌梗死（MI）患者更多地是通过对生活事件情感影响的主观解读来区分，而非通过接触大量据推测为具有代表性样本认定本质上有压力的生活事件。收集了120例明确诊断为MI患者在发病前一年的生活事件数据，包括事件发生频率、从量级估计量表得出的生活变化和痛苦的累积权重，以及评估各事件个人解读影响的视觉模拟量表，并与40例入住冠心病监护病房但未诊断为MI或其他严重疾病且很快出院的患者收集的相同数据进行对比。两组在生活事件频率、生活变化和痛苦的量级估计量表或生活变化的个人影响量表方面差异不明显。然而，情感痛苦的个人影响量表在两组间确实有显著区分，表明MI患者将发病前一年接触的生活事件解读为特别令人情绪痛苦。虽然对该研究采用的研究策略可能存在方法学上的批评，但有人认为，充分考虑生活事件数据的经验独特性加强了生活事件与MI之间的关系，而采用更保守的研究策略这种关系不会显现出来。
