Measures of neuroticism and disease status in coronary angiography patients

A high percentage of patients who undergo diagnostic angiography because they have chest pain are found to be free of significant coronary artery disease. To examine the psychological characteristics of these patients, we used several Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) measures to assess the relationships between different aspects of neuroticism and coronary artery disease severity (CADSEV) in a sample of 1,462 angiography patients. The Conversion V profile was inversely and most strongly related to CADSEV. Single high scores on hypochondriasis or hysteria were also inversely related to CADSEV, but psychasthenia and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMA; Taylor, 1953) scores were not. Using measures derived by a factor analysis of the MMPI, items relating somatic complaints were inversely related to CADSEV, but a measure of general neuroticism was not. These results support the hypothesis that the association between neuroticism and angiographic findings may be specific to a particular aspect of neuroticism, somatic preoccupation. The implications for neuroticism measurement and clinical practice are discussed.