Personality Type Linked to Increased Mortality

Type D personality assessment may identify high-risk patients with peripheral arterial disease

20 aug 2009-- In patients with peripheral arterial disease, Type D personality -- which is characterized by negative emotions and inhibited self-expression during social interactions -- is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality, according to a pilot study published in the August issue of the Archives of Surgery.

Annelies E. Aquarius, Ph.D., of Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a baseline psychological assessment of 184 patients (mean age, 64.8 years), of whom 16 died during a follow-up of up to four years.

The researchers found that independent predictors of all-cause mortality included traditional clinical risk factors such as age, diabetes, and renal disease (odds ratios, 1.1 to 2.3). Even after adjusting for these risk factors, however, they found that Type D personality was associated with more than a tripled risk of death (odds ratio, 3.5).

"Hence, in light of the challenge of optimizing risk management in peripheral arterial disease, a personality-based approach may be useful," the authors conclude. "Previous research has already shown that Type D personality predicts prognosis in cardiac patients and impaired quality of life. This study suggests that attention on personality variables may also improve the detection of high-risk patients with peripheral arterial disease."

Abstract
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