Personality traits and the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke in women with diabetes - an epidemiological study based on the Women's Health Initiative

The association between personality traits and myocardial infarction- A European cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a serious condition that increases with age. It is valuable to identify the reasons why some are affected, and possibly, why different personality traits can be associated with an increased or decreased risk for myocardial infarction.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study based on wave 7 data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). A total of 52,231 individuals aged 50 years or older were included in the study. The Big Five personality traits constituted the main exposure variables and were analyzed separately. The value of each personality trait variable was standardized. The association between each personality trait and MI was examined by logistic regression models which were used to estimate the Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95 % Confidence Intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

A total of 6336 participants reported having a MI in this study. The odds of MI were higher in individuals with greater Neuroticism (OR: 1.15, 95 % CI: 1.12-1.18). Higher Conscientiousness was associated with decreased odds of MI (OR: 0.96, 95 % CI: 0.94-0.99). Higher Agreeableness was associated with lower odds of MI (OR: 0.96, 95 % CI: 0.94-0.99). There were no significant associations between Openness or Extraversion and the odds of MI, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher Neuroticism was associated with increased odds of MI. Higher Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were associated with decreased odds of MI, respectively. Our study is of interest for the prevention of MI.

Anger Expression Styles, Cynical Hostility, and the Risk for the Development of Type 2 Diabetes or Diabetes-Related Heart Complications: Secondary Analysis of the Health and Retirement Study

OBJECTIVE

Limited research has examined associations between trait anger and hostility and incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) and diabetes-related heart complications. However, anger expression styles (i.e., anger-in, anger-out) have not been examined. The present study used secondary data to examine the associations between anger expression styles, cynical hostility, and the risk of developing T2D (objective 1) or diabetes-related heart complications (objective 2).

METHODS

Self-report data came from participants aged 50 to 75 years in the Health and Retirement Study. Anger-in (anger that is suppressed and directed toward oneself, anger-out (anger directed toward other people or the environment), and cynical hostility were measured at baseline (2006 or 2008). Follow-up data (i.e., diabetes status or diabetes-related heart complications status) were collected every 2 years thereafter until 2020. The objective 1 sample included 7898 participants without T2D at baseline, whereas the objective 2 sample included 1340 participants with T2D but without heart complications at baseline.

RESULTS

Only anger-in was significantly associated with incident T2D after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (hazard ratio = 1.08, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.16), but the association did not hold after further adjustment for depressive symptoms. Only anger-out was significantly associated with incident diabetes-related heart complications after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, health-related covariates, and depressive symptoms (hazard ratio = 1.21, 95% confidence interval = 1.02-1.39).

CONCLUSIONS

Anger expression styles were differentially related to diabetes outcomes. These findings demonstrate the value of expanding the operationalization of anger beyond trait anger in this literature and encourage further investigation of anger expression styles.

Partialing Alters Interpersonal Correlates of Negative Affective Symptoms and Traits: A Circumplex Illustration

INTRODUCTION

Negative affective symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression, and anger) are correlated and have parallel associations with outcomes, as do related personality traits (i.e., facets of neuroticism), often prompting statistical control (i.e., partialing) to determine independent effects. However, such adjustments among predictor variables can alter their construct validity. In three studies, the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) and a related analytic approach (i.e., Structural Summary Method) were used to evaluate changes in interpersonal correlates of negative affective characteristics resulting from partialing.

METHODS

Samples of undergraduates (Sample 1 n = 3283; Sample 2 = 688) and married couples (n = 300 couples) completed self-report (three samples) and partner rating (sample 3) measures of anxiety, depression and anger, and IPC measures of interpersonal style.

RESULTS

Anxiety, depression, and anger had expected interpersonal correlates across samples. Partialing depression eliminated interpersonal correlates of anxiety. When anxiety was controlled, depression measures were more strongly associated with submissiveness and less closely associated with low warmth. Adjustments involving anger magnified differences in dominance versus submissiveness associated with the negative affects.

DISCUSSION

Removal of overlap among negative affective measures via partialing alters their interpersonal correlates, potentially complicating interpretation of adjusted associations.