Personality traits and hypertension-mediated organ damage.

Objectives: Arterial hypertension may lead to the development of organ changes. This study compares different personality traits in hypertensive patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy and arterial stiffness.
Methods: The study group consisted of 93 subjects (47 males and 46 females) with primary hypertension. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were evaluated and used as markers of cardiac and vascular damage. Personality traits of each patient were assessed using three psychometric tools: NEO-FFI, DS14 and EAS.
Results: Patients with increased PWV scored significantly lower than individuals with normal PWVin the following scales: NEO-FFI Neuroticism (18 vs. 27.5; p = 0.018), DS14 Negative affectivity (11.5 vs. 17; p = 0.035) and EAS Fear (10 vs. 13; p = 0.004). Subjects with left ventricular hypertrophy (increased LVMI values) presented lower levels of openness to experience (measured by the NEO-FFI) than persons with normal LVMI values (23 vs. 26; p = 0.027).
Conclusions: These findings suggest that there are significant differences in personality traits between hypertensive patients with and without vascular and cardiac damage.