شخصیت نوع D و سندرم متابولیک در یک مطالعه کوهورت آینده نگر شغلی 7 ساله

Objective Type D personality is a combination of high negative affectivity (NA) and high social inhibition (SI). This trait is related to increased mortality and poor health outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases, although it is less well-established if Type D personality also poses an increased risk in healthy populations. A potential underlying pathway could include the metabolic syndrome and the combination of abdominal obesity, subnormal levels of triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and increased plasma glucose levels. We investigated if Type D personality shows a cross-sectional and longitudinal association with metabolic syndrome in a working population. Methods Poisson regression and linear regression were used to estimate the association between Type D personality and its subscales (NA) and (SI) with objectively established metabolic syndrome markers in cross-sectional (n = 458) and prospective (n = 268, 6.3 years follow-up) analyses of data from an occupational cohort (mean age = 35.9 years, SD = 11.7; 80% male). Results Type D personality was neither associated with the metabolic syndrome nor with any of its subcomponents. Conclusion The present study does not support a role for metabolic syndrome as a mediating mechanism. More research is needed that examines potential pathways linking Type D personality with cardiovascular disease outcomes.

Type D, or ‘distressed,’ personality refers to the combined tendency to experience negative emotions (high negative affectivity) and to inhibit self-expression in social interactions (high social inhibition) [1]. In patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) Type D personality has been found to strongly predict poor health outcomes, including mortality [2]. Several mechanisms have been proposed as possible mediators of the link between Type D and cardiovascular disease outcomes [3] and [4]. These mechanisms include behavioral factors, like inadequate consultation behavior, sedentary lifestyle, and poor diet [5] and [6], as well as biological factors such as increased inflammatory activity [7] and [8] and altered HPA-axis activity [9], [10] and [11]. In light of the robust risk prediction in CVD patients, it is surprising that relatively little research has been conducted in other than patient populations. Type D personality has a high prevalence in community samples (13–38%) [12] and [13] where it is associated with increased poor mental and physical health status [12]. It seems warranted, therefore, to study if Type D personality poses an increased cardiovascular risk in predominantly healthy populations.