| Summary: | Objective. The influence of chronic stress (CS) on increase in thickness of the intima media complex (IMC) of common carotid arteries as a sign of asymptomatic disturbance of the target organs in atherosclerosis was explored.Materials and methods. 160 railroad engineers (RRE) and 100 healthy volunteers were examined. The activity of the stress systems was measured by the level of stress hormones in the blood (adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, corticosterone). The secretory function of vascular endothelium was measured by release of nitrogen oxide and endothelin-1. The condition of inflammatory activity processes (concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), total cholesterol and its fractions were studied among the factors affecting the endothelial function. The IMC thickness was measured by duplex scanning. Blood pressure (BP) was measured by Holter monitor.Results. The effect of CS was accompanied by an increase in stress hormones, development of endothelial dysfunction (ED), progression of inflammatory processes, occurrence of dyslipidemia due to an increase in the content of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), increased BP. Against this background, the IMC thickness increased at a faster rate among RRI.Conclusions. The effect of the CS factors leads to appearance of ED, which promotes an increase in the thickness of the CMM as a factor of vascular atherosclerosis.
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