"Personality traits and heart disease in the Middle East". Is there a link?

The significant role of psychosocial factors as a contributing factor to an increased risk of having a myocardial infarction has been extensively studied in the western world. This era of economic crises has seen an exponential rise in heart disease at a relatively earlier age. Whether these dynamics are equally associated, in the younger ethnically diverse population of UAE, which contributes to more than 50% of the population is not very well known.

No studies have examined the role of psychosocial variables and personality traits as a contributing factor to CAD in the UAE. The objective of this case controlled study was to explore relationships between demographics, socioeconomic status, personality types, stress-handling abilities, emotional intelligence, and cardiac risk factors.

The participants of this case controlled study included 90 MI patients admitted to a govt hospital in UAE during the period of 2011-2012, which were matched to 90 healthy individual. A analysis of their personality types, emotional intelligence and stress handling skills was performed using specific questionnaires.

The results showed a significantly higher incidence of Type A personality in the MI group. In addition, these individuals were also much more likely to have diabetes, hypertension, and a history smoking, when compared to controls. Moreover a significant relationship between the presence of Type A personality and the presence of CAD was identified. Associations among variables were examined followed by analysis, discussion, and recommendation for prevention and treatment of CAD in UAE.