The relationships between psychosocial and genetic risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (part I)

Numerous studies of the recent decade detected a significant increase in the psychosocial stress level. Development of cardiovascular diseases (CAD) directly depends upon the psychosocial factors. Considering the heterogeneity of CAD, the principal aim of predictive medicine is to identify individuals of high-risk groups for developing multifactorial diseases before their clinical manifestations. The review presents the analysis of associations between polymorphisms of key candidate genes of the serotonergic and the dopaminergic systems and psycho-emotional characteristics such as depression, anxiety, and hostility, the traits determining tolerance to chronic stress factors.