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Type D personality: the heart, stress, and cortisol
1Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. ls2003@columbia.edu
QJM : Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians
|April 12, 2005
Summary
Distressed personality, characterized by negative emotions and social inhibition, increases cardiovascular risk. This personality type shows heightened cortisol reactivity, potentially mediating the link to heart disease.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Psychosocial and behavioral factors influence cardiovascular disease etiology.
- Type D (distressed) personality, marked by negative affectivity and social inhibition, is a proposed risk factor.
- Cardiac patients with Type D personality face elevated risks for morbidity and mortality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between Type D personality and cardiovascular risk.
- To investigate the role of cortisol reactivity in Type D personality and heart disease.
- To explore potential HPA axis alterations in Type D individuals.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies on Type D personality and cardiovascular disorders.
- Analysis of cortisol reactivity to stress in Type D individuals.
- Examination of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in relation to Type D personality.
Main Results:
- Type D personality dimensions correlate with increased cortisol reactivity to stress.
- Elevated cortisol may mediate the link between Type D personality and coronary heart disease risk.
- Inconsistent findings on age effects on HPA function may be due to Type D prevalence.
Conclusions:
- Type D personality is linked to heightened physiological stress responses.
- Cortisol may be a key biological mediator for Type D related cardiovascular risks.
- Further research into Type D psychological and biological features is needed for targeted treatments.