Personality characteristics in diabetic patients

Abstract

Various personality characteristics have been associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in non‐diabetic populations. Diabetics have an increased risk of developing CHD, but the role of psychosocial factors in this excess risk remains unclear. This cross‐sectional study examines the relationship between Type A behaviour, neuroticism, extraversion and depression to the presence of diabetic complications and current diabetic control in 56 West Indian and 74 Caucasian, insulin‐dependent and non‐insulin‐dependent diabetics (IDDM & NIDDM). Female NIDDM's exhibited significantly lower neuroticism scores compared with those on insulin ( − 1.38 vs 0.8, p=0.3) and significantly higher Type A scores. Significantly higher neuroticism scores were correlated with regular smoking (p=0.03). There were no significant relationships between any personality characteristics and duration of diabetes, the relevance of specific diabetic complications or measures of control, e.g. blood glucose, HbA1. Subjects with depression were more likely to have high neuroticism scores (p=.0001). Personality characteristics appeared to be unrelated to the presence of diabetic complications and control. Copyright © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.