Diabetes Moderates the Link between Personality Traits and Self-Rated Health (SRH)

OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of this study is to explore the relationship between personality traits and self-rated health (SRH) in individuals with diabetes, while also comparing these associations with a group of healthy controls.

METHODS

The data for this study were obtained from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), comprising a sample of 1860 diabetes patients and 12,915 healthy controls who were matched in terms of age and sex. Hierarchical linear regression was utilized to analyze the data. The analysis included demographic variables such as age, sex, monthly income, highest educational qualification, marital status, and psychological distress assessed through the GHQ-12, personality traits, including Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion, and diabetes status (0 for diabetes patients, 1 for healthy controls) as predictors. Interactions between personality traits and diabetes status were also included as predictors, with SRH serving as the dependent variable. Additionally, separate multiple regression analyses were conducted for diabetes patients and healthy controls, incorporating demographic variables, psychological distress, and personality traits as predictors, while SRH remained the dependent variable.

RESULTS

The findings of this study indicate that diabetes significantly moderates the association between Neuroticism and SRH. Specifically, both Neuroticism and Extraversion were negatively associated with SRH, whereas Openness and Conscientiousness exhibited a positive association with SRH in healthy controls. However, among diabetes patients, only Conscientiousness showed a positive association with SRH.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits predict SRH in people with and without diabetes differently. Healthcare professionals and clinicians should try to come up with ways that improve SRH and thus better outcomes in diabetes patients based on the findings from the current study.

Personality Traits Predict Self-Rated Health (SRH) in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) Patients and Healthy Controls

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the present study is to examine the association between Big Five personality traits and self-rated health (SRH) among individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD), and to compare this relationship with that of healthy control participants, which is of importance as SRH can be a determinant of outcomes.

METHODS

The current study used data from 566 participants with CHD with a mean age of 63.00 (S.D. = 15.23) years old (61.13% males) and 8608 age- and sex-matched healthy controls with a mean age of 63.87 (S.D.= 9.60) years old (61.93% males) from the UKHLS. The current study used predictive normative modelling approaches, one-sample t tests, a hierarchical regression, and two multiple regressions.

RESULTS

The current study found that CHD patients have significantly lower Conscientiousness (t(565) = -3.84, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [-0.28, -0.09], Cohen's d = -0.16) and SRH (t(565) = -13.83, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [-0.68, -0.51], and Cohen's d = -0.58) scores compared to age and sex-matched healthy controls. Moreover, health status (controls vs. CHD patients) moderated the links between Neuroticism, Extraversion and SRH. Specifically, Neuroticism (b = -0.03, p < 0.01, 95% C.I. [-0.04, -0.01]), Openness (b = 0.04, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [0.02, 0.06]), and Conscientiousness (b = 0.08, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [0.06, 0.10]) were significant predictors of SRH in healthy controls, whereas Conscientiousness (b = 0.08, p < 0.05, 95% C.I. [0.01, 0.16]) and Extraversion (b = -0.09, p < 0.01, 95% C.I. [-0.15, -0.02]) were significant predictors of SRH in CHD patients.

CONCLUSION

Based on the close associations between personality traits and SRH, and the subsequent impact on patient outcomes, the results of this study should be taken into consideration by clinicians and health professionals when developing tailored treatment and intervention programs for their patients.

Three-year prediction of depression and anxiety with a single self-rated health item

BACKGROUND

Self-rated health (SRH) is a single question with which general health status is assessed.

AIMS

To study whether SRH (i) is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms, concurrently and after three years, (ii) predicts the course over time for meeting a cutoff for depression and anxiety, and (iii) predicts development of depression and anxiety after three years.

METHOD

Population-based questionnaire data from northern Sweden were used. In total, 2336 individuals participated at baseline and three-year follow-up. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to quantify symptoms of depression and anxiety. Categorical and continuous data were used for analyses to complement each other.

RESULTS

Regarding prevalence, the analyses showed three- to four-fold increased odds for depression and anxiety at three-year follow-up, and two- to three-fold odds for their development at three-year follow-up. SRH at baseline was also found to be a significant, but weak, predictor of depression and anxiety severity and worsening at follow-up as well as being a predictor over time for meeting a cutoff for depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Assessment of SRH may be used in general practice to identify individuals who qualify for further evaluation of depression and anxiety.