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Low blood glucose associated with spousal aggression
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Adults with low blood glucose were more likely to act aggressively toward their spouses, according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers said exerting self-control requires energy, which becomes unavailable when glucose stores are depleted. Low blood glucose may prevent people from controlling aggressive — and even violent — emotions and actions.
Brad J. Bushman
The scenario is a medical basis for the popular term “hangry,” a combination of hungry and angry. Brad J. Bushman, PhD, of the Ohio State University, and colleagues wrote that lapses in self-control may contribute to intimate partner violence and domestic violence. Study findings may be especially relevant for those with prediabetes and diabetes.
“Poor glucose tolerance is a core feature of some conditions, such as diabetes. Other research has also shown that elevated diabetic symptoms relate to greater aggressiveness,” Bushman and colleagues wrote. “Future work may explore whether poor glucose tolerance represents a risk factor for intimate partner violence.”
Study design and results
The study contained data from 107 heterosexual couples who had been married an average of 12 years. Participants recorded glucose levels using a blood glucose meter every morning before breakfast and every evening before bed during a 21-day period.
Researchers provided each participant with a voodoo doll and 51 pins. Participants were asked to insert between 0 and 51 pins at the end of each day, depending on how angry the participant felt toward their spouse. The voodoo doll method was chosen to represent aggressive inclinations based on previous research.
At the end of the study period, participants came to a test site with their spouses and competed in a computer-based speed test. Participants who reacted to a visual cue earlier than their spouses were able to blast their spouses with a loud, unpleasant noise.
“Basically, within the ethical limits of the laboratory, participants controlled a weapon that could be used to blast their spouse with unpleasant noise. This is a well-validated measure of laboratory aggression that has been used for decades,” researchers wrote.
In keeping with researchers’ predictions, daily evening glucose levels predicted sticking fewer pins into the voodoo doll representing one’s partner (P<.02) before controlling for any covariates. Daily evening glucose continued to predict fewer pin sticks even after controlling for relationship satisfaction and participant sex (P=.006).
Data showed that evening glucose levels predicted lower noise intensity and duration levels given to one’s spouse (P<.0001) before controlling for any covariates.
After controlling for relationship satisfaction and participant sex, average evening glucose continued to predict less aggression (P<.0001).
The study has implications for people who are limiting calorie intake to lose weight.
“We focused on daily fluctuations in glucose levels, but future research may explore whether our effect would be strongest among populations that have compromised glucose levels. Dieters, for example, restrict their caloric intake in a manner that might place them at risk for aggression. Although we did not measure whether participants were dieting, hunger can increase feelings irritability. If dieters have not eaten enough, they will have lower glucose levels,” the researchers said.
Disclosure: This study was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
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