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Prof Andrew Steptoe

  • Telephone:

    0207 679 1804

  • Extension:

    45628

  • Fax:

    0207 9168542

  • Email:

    a.steptoe@ucl.ac.uk

  • Webpage:

    http://www.ucl.ac.uk/epidemiology/psychobiology

  • Address:

    Department of Epidemiology and Public Health,
    1-19 Torrington Place,
    London,
    WC1E 6BT

  • Appointments:

    British Heart Foundation Professor of Psychology, Epidemiology & Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology & Health

Summary

Andrew Steptoe is Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences, and British Heart Foundation professor of psychology. He graduated from Cambridge in 1972, and completed his doctorate at Oxford University in 1975. He moved to St. George’s Hospital Medical School in 1977, becoming professor and chair of the Department in 1988, where he remained until his appointment in 2000 to UCL. He became Deputy Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL in 2005 and subsequently Head of Department before being appointed Director of the Institute in 2011. He is a Past-President of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine and is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Psychological Society, Academia Europaea, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He was founding editor of the British Journal of Health Psychology, an associate editor of Psychophysiology, the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, the International Journal of Rehabilitation and Health and the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, and is on the editorial boards of seven other journals. Andrew directs the Psychobiology Group (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychobiology) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing research group at UCL (http://www.ifs.org.uk/ELSA). He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and is author or editor of 18 books, most recently the Handbook of Behavioral Medicine (2010) and Stress and Cardiovascular Disease (2012).

 

Research Summary

1. Psychobiology of health and disease - The purpose of this programme is to understand the biological processes through which social status and other psychosocial factors influence disease risk. It involves laboratory studies of the influence of psychosocial factors on cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and immune function, and naturalistic studies of blood pressure, cortisol and other measures during everyday life. This research is carried out in collaboration with Professor Michael Marmot and the Whitehall II study 2. Psychophysiology of coronary heart disease - This theme concerns the influence of behaviour and emotional factors on patients with advanced coronary artery disease. The purpose is to understand the role of emotional factors in the triggering of coronary ischaemia and acute coronary syndromes, to understand the evolution of depression in patients following acute coronary syndromes, and to investigate the influence of psychosocial factors on long-term adjustment and quality of life in coronary heart disease. 3. Health behaviour change - Behaviours such as dietary choice, smoking and physical exercise are important determinants of health and disease risk. We are carrying out studies of the determinants of health behaviours, and work on the use of behavioural counselling to modify risk behaviours. 4. Biology and happiness -This research focuses on the potentially protective effect of positive affect in physical health. It involves population-based studies and investigations of associations between affect and biology in everyday life. 5. Ageing and health - I have taken responsibility joined for the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), and am helping to coordinate the research on this large population-based study http://www.ifs.org.uk/elsa/

Research Activities

  • Ageing
  • Cell stress proteins as extracellular signals
  • Gender divisions in paid and unpaid labour
  • Health behaviour change
  • Psychobiology of health and disease
  • Social participation, ageing and wellbeing

Recent Publications

Displaying 50 most recent publications. For the full list please visit UCL Discovery

  1. Lazzarino AI,Hamer M,Stamatakis E,Steptoe APA (2013) Low socioeconomic status and psychological distress as synergistic predictors of mortality from stroke and coronary heart disease Psychosomatic Medicine.
  2. Shankar A,Hamer H,McMunn A,Steptoe APA (2013) Social isolation and loneliness: Relationships with cognitive function over 4 years follow up in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing Psychosomatic Medicine.
  3. Jackowska M,Kumari M,Steptoe APA (2013) Sleep and biomarkers in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing: Associations with C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and haemoglobin Psychoneuroendocrinology.
  4. Dowd JB,Bosch JA,Steptoe APA,Blackburn E,Lin J,Rees-Clayton E,Aiello AE (2013) Cytomegalovirus is associated with reduced telomerase activity in the Whitehall II cohort Experimental Gerontology.
  5. Evans RE,Beeken RJ,Steptoe A,Wardle J (2012) Cancer information and anxiety: applying the extended parallel process model. J Health Psychol, 17(4), 579 - 589. 10.1177/1359105311421046.
  6. Hamer M,Steptoe APA (2012) Vascular inflammation and blood pressure response to acute exercise European Journal of Applied Physiology, 112(6), 2375 - 2379.
  7. Steptoe A,Kivimaki MJ (2012) Stress and cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 9, 360 - 370. 10.1038/nrcardio.2012.45.
  8. Heikkilä K,Nyberg ST,Fransson EI,Alfredsson L,De Bacquer D,Bjorner JB,Bonenfant S,Borritz M,Burr H,Clays E,Casini A,Dragano N,Erbel R,Geuskens GA,Goldberg M,Hooftman WE,Houtman IL,Joensuu M,Jöckel KH,Kittel F,Knutsson A,Koskenvuo M,Koskinen A,Kouvonen A,Leineweber C,Lunau T,Madsen IE,Magnusson Hanson LL,Marmot MG,Nielsen ML,Nordin M,Pentti J,Salo P,Rugulies R,Steptoe A,Siegrist J,Suominen S,Vahtera J,Virtanen M,Väänänen A,Westerholm P,Westerlund H,Zins M,Theorell T,Hamer M,Ferrie JE,Singh-Manoux A,Batty GD,Kivimäki M,IPD-Work Consortium (2012) Job strain and tobacco smoking: an individual-participant data meta-analysis of 166,130 adults in 15 European studies. PLoS One, 7(7), e35463. 10.1371/journal.pone.0035463.
  9. Hamer M,Venuraju SM,Lahiri A,Rossi A,Steptoe A (2012) Objectively assessed physical activity, sedentary time, and coronary artery calcification in healthy older adults. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 32(2), 500 - 505. 10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.236877.
  10. Hamer M,Venuraju SM,Urbanova L,Lahiri A,Steptoe A (2012) Physical activity, sedentary time, and pericardial fat in healthy older adults. Obesity (Silver Spring), 20(10), 2113 - 2117. 10.1038/oby.2012.61.
  11. Steptoe A,Demakakos P,Oliveira de C (2012) The psychological well-being, health and functioning of older people in England, 98 - 182.
  12. (2012) Stress and Cardiovascular Disease.
  13. Zaninotto P,Steptoe APA (2012) Health domain tables, 98 - 182.
  14. Marmot A,Steptoe APA (2012) Introduction, 1 - 9.
  15. Jackowska M,Hamer M,Carvalho LA,Erusalimsky JD,Butcher L,Steptoe A (2012) Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length in Healthy Men: Findings from the Whitehall II Cohort Study PLOS ONE, 7(10). 10.1371/journal.pone.0047292.
  16. Steptoe APA (2012) Socioeconomic status, inflammation, and immune function, 234 - 253.
  17. Steptoe APA,Wikman A,Molloy GJ,Kaski J-C (2012) Anaemia and the development of depressive symptoms following acute coronary syndrome: Longitudinal clinical observational study BMJ Open, 2, e000551. 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000551.
  18. Bostock S,Steptoe A (2012) Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study BMJ: British Medical Journal, 344, e1602. 10.1136/b,j.e1602.
  19. Steptoe APA,Breeze E,Banks J,Nazroo J (2012) Cohort profile: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) International Journal of Epidemiology.
  20. Messerli-Bürgy N,Molloy GJ,Wikman A,Perkins-Porras L,Randall G,Steptoe A (2012) Cortisol levels and history of depression in acute coronary syndrome patients Psychological Medicine, 42, 1815 - 1823.
  21. Hamer M,Steptoe A (2012) Cortisol responses to mental stress and incident hypertension in healthy men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 97(1), E29 - E34. 10.1210/jc.2011-2132.
  22. Hamer M,Endrighi R,Venuraju SM,Lahiri A,Steptoe A (2012) Cortisol responses to mental stress and the progression of coronary artery calcification in healthy men and women. PLoS One, 7(2), e31356. 10.1371/journal.pone.0031356.
  23. Goswami N,Roessler A,Hinghofer-Szalkay H,Montani J-P,Steptoe A (2012) Delaying orthostatic syncope with mental challenge: a pilot study Physiology and Behavior, 106, 569 - 573.
  24. Steptoe APA,Demakakos P,De Oliveira C,Wardle J (2012) Distinctive biological correlates of positive psychological well-being in older men and women Psychosom Med, 74(5), 501 - 508. 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31824f82c8.
  25. Brydon L,Lin J,Butcher L,Hamer M,Erusalimsky J,Blackburn EH,Steptoe A (2012) Hostility and cellular aging in men from the Whitehall II cohort Biol Psychiatry, 71, 767 - 773.
  26. Steptoe APA,Wikman A,Molloy GJ,Messerli-Burgy N,Kaski JC (2012) Inflammation and symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with acute coronary heart disease Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
  27. Bostock S,Steptoe APA (2012) Influences of early shift work on the diurnal cortisol rhythm, mood and sleep: within-subject variation in male airline pilots Psychoneuroendocrinology.
  28. Steptoe APA,Rosengren A,Hjemdahl P (2012) Introduction to cardiovascular disease, stress and adaptation, 1 - 14.
  29. Heikkila K,Nyberg ST,Fransson EI,Alfredsson L,De Bacquer D,Bjorner JB,Bonenfant S,Borritz M,Burr H,Clays E,Casini A,Dragano N,Erbel R,Geuskens GA,Goldberg M,Hooftman WE,Houtman IE,Joensuu M,Jockel KH,Kittel F,Knutsson A,Koskenvuo M,Koskinen A,Kouvonen A,Leineweber C,Lunau T,Madsen IEH,Magnusson Hanson LL,Marmot MG,Nielsen M,Nordin M,Pentti J,Salo P,Rugulies R,Steptoe APA,Siegrist J,Suominen S,Vahtera J,Virtanen M,Vaananen A,Westerholm W,Westerlund H,Zins M,Theorell T,Hamer M,Ferrie JE,Singh-Manouz A,Batty GD,Kivimaki M (2012) Job strain and alcohol intake: a collaborative meta-analysis of individual-participant data from 140,000 men and women PLoS One, 7(7), e40101. 10.1371/journal.pone.0040101.
  30. Kivimaki M,Nyberg ST,Batty GD,Fransson EI,Heikkila K,Alfredsson L,Bjorner JB,Borritz M,Steptoe APA,Theorell T (2012) Job strain as a risk factor for future coronary heart disease: Collaborative meta-analysis of 2358 events in 197,473 men and women Lancet, 380, 1491 - 1497.
  31. Nyberg ST,Heikkila K,Fransson EI,Alfredsson L,De Bacquer D,Bjorner JB,Bonenfant S,Borritz M,Burr H,Casini A,Clays E,Dragano N,Erbel R,Geuskens GA,Goldberg M,Hooftman WE,Houtman IL,Jockel KH,Kittel F,Knutsson A,Koskenvuo M,Leineweber C,Lunau T,Madsen IE,Hanson LL,Marmot MG,Nielsen ML,Nordin M,Oksanen T,Pentti J,Rugulies R,Siegrist J,Suominen S,Vahtera J,Virtanen M,Westerholm P,Westerlund H,Zins M,Ferrie JE,Theorell T,Steptoe APA,Hamer M,Singh-Manoux A,Batty GD,Kivimaki M (2012) Job strain in relation to body mass index: pooled analysis of 160,000 adults from 13 cohort studies J Intern Med, 272(1), 65 - 73. 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02482.x.
  32. Grimmett` C,Bridgewater J,Steptoe APA,Wardle J (2012) Lifestyle and quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors Quality of Life Research, 20(8), 1237 - 1245. 10.1007/s11136-011-9855-1.
  33. Hamer M,Kivimaki M,Steptoe A (2012) Longitudinal patterns in physical activity and sedentary behaviour from mid-life to early old age: a substudy of the Whitehall II cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health, 66(12), 1110 - 1115. 10.1136/jech-2011-200505.
  34. Seldenrijk A,Hamer M,Lahiri A,Penninx BW,Steptoe A (2012) Psychological distress, cortisol stress response and subclinical coronary calcification Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37(1), 48 - 55.
  35. Kivimaki M,Steptoe APA (2012) Sleep is unlikely to be the key mediator between stress and CVD Nature Reviews Cardiology, 9(45), c2.
  36. Demakakos, P ,Marmot M,Steptoe A (2012) Socioeconomic position and incidence of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and older men and women. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing European Journal of Epidemiology, 27, 367 - 378. 10.1007/s10654-012-9688-4.
  37. Steptoe APA (2012) Stress, inflammation, and coronary heart disease, 111 - 128. 10.1007/978-1-84882-419-5_7.
  38. Wikman A,Messerli-Burgy N,Molloy JG,Randall G,Perkins-Porras L,Steptoe APA (2012) Symptom experience during acute coronary syndrome and the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 35(4), 420 - 430. 10.1007/s10865-011-9369-x.
  39. Steptoe APA,LaMarca R (2012) The biopsychosocial perspective on cardiovascular disease.
  40. Lazzarino AI,Hamer M,Stamatakis E,Steptoe A (2012) The combined association of psychological distress and socio-economic status with all-cause mortality: a national cohort study Archives of Internal Medicine.
  41. Hackett RA,Hamer M,Endrighi R,Brydon L,Steptoe A (2012) Loneliness and stress-related inflammatory and neuroendocrine responses in older men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37(11), 1801 - 1809. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.016.
  42. Shoneye S,Johnson F,Steptoe A,Wardle J (2011) A qualitative analysis of black and white British women's attitudes to weight and weight control Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 24(6), 536 - 542. 10.1111/j.1365-277X.2011.01198.x.
  43. Poole L,Hamer M,Wawrzyniak A,Steptoe A (2011) The effects of exercise withdrawal on mood and inflammatory cytokine responses in humans Stress, 14(4), 439 - 447.
  44. Cooper R,Hardy R,Aihie Sayer A,Ben-Shlomo Y,Birnie K,Cooper C,Craig L,Deary IJ,Demakakos P,Gallacher J,McNeill G,Martin RM,Starr JM,Steptoe APA,Kuh D (2011) Age and gender differences in physical capability levels from mid-life onwards: the harmonisation and meta-analysis of data from eight UK cohort studies PLoS One, 6(11), e27899. 10.1371/journal.pone.0027899.
  45. Poole L,Dickens C,Steptoe A (2011) The puzzle of depression and acute coronary syndrome: reviewing the role of acute inflammation Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 71(2), 61 - 68. 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.12.009.
  46. Kidd T,Hamer M,Steptoe A (2011) Examining the association between adult attachment style and cortisol responses to acute stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(6), 771 - 779. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.10.014.
  47. Birnie K,Cooper R,Martin RM,Kuh D,Sayer AA,Alvarado BE,Bayer A,Christensen K,Cho SI,Cooper C,Corley J,Craig L,Deary IJ,Demakakos P,Ebrahim S,Gallacher J,Gow AJ,Gunnell D,Haas S,Hemmingsson T,Inskip H,Jang SN,Noronha K,Osler M,Palloni A,Rasmussen F,Santos-Eggimann B,Spagnoli J,Starr J,Steptoe A,Syddall H,Tynelius P,Weir D,Whalley LJ,Zunzunegui MV,Ben-Shlomo Y,Hardy R,HALCyon Study Team (2011) Childhood Socioeconomic Position and Objectively Measured Physical Capability Levels in Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis PLOS ONE, 6(1). 10.1371/journal.pone.0015564.
  48. Ussher M,Aveyard P,Reid F,West R,Evans P,Clow A,Hucklebridge F,Fuller J,Ibison J,Steptoe A (2011) A randomised placebo-controlled trial of oral hydrocortisone for treating tobacco withdrawal symptoms Psychopharmacology, 216(1), 43 - 51.
  49. Poole L,Steptoe A,Wawrzyniak A,Bostock S,Mitchell ES,Hamer M (2011) Associations of objectively measured physical activity with daily mood ratings and psychophysiological stress responses in women Psychophysiology, 48(8), 1165 - 1172.
  50. Endrighi R,Hamer M,Steptoe A (2011) Associations of trait optimism with diurnal neuroendocrine activity, cortisol responses to mental stress, and subjective stress measures in healthy men and women Psychosom Med, 73(8), 672 - 678.

Biography

Andrew Steptoe is Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences, and British Heart Foundation professor of psychology. He graduated from Cambridge in 1972, and completed his doctorate at Oxford University in 1975. He moved to St. George’s Hospital Medical School in 1977, becoming professor and chair of the Department in 1988, where he remained until his appointment in 2000 to UCL. He became Deputy Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL in 2005 and subsequently Head of Department before being appointed Director of the Institute in 2011. He is a Past-President of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine and is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Psychological Society, Academia Europaea, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He was founding editor of the British Journal of Health Psychology, an associate editor of Psychophysiology, the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, the International Journal of Rehabilitation and Health and the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, and is on the editorial boards of seven other journals. Andrew directs the Psychobiology Group (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychobiology) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing research group at UCL (http://www.ifs.org.uk/ELSA). He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and is author or editor of 18 books, most recently the Handbook of Behavioral Medicine (2010) and Stress and Cardiovascular Disease (2012).

 

Qualifications

  • 1995: Doctor of Science, University of London
  • 1976: Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
  • 1976: Master of Arts, University of Cambridge
  • 1972: Bachelor of Arts, University of Cambridge