Key result
Higher conscientiousness was associated with a 16% lower likelihood of meeting the hypertension-related cardiac troponin T cut-off point in Caucasians with high avoidance coping (OR 0.84).
Why the study?
Personality traits partially control stress coping responses and may affect prospective cardiac responses, but relationships between personality traits, coping strategies, and cTnT changes over time were not established.
Cohort (n=336)
No
Odds Ratio: 0.84 (95% CI 0.74–0.96)
p-value: p=0.013
Higher conscientiousness is associated with healthier stress coping responses and may protect against cardiac ischemia and hypertension risk over time.
Personality traits may influence troponin via coping in this cohort; leaves open causal roles in cardiac risk.
In a South African bi-ethnic cohort, defensive (DefS)/social support/avoidance coping strategies have been shown to influence cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels through different stress signalling pathways. Personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness) partially control stress coping responses and may affect prospective cardiac responses. Hence in this cohort, we aimed to examine relationships between personality traits and coping strategies, and to assess associations between cTnT changes over time, personality traits and coping strategies.A cohort of African and Caucasian male and female teachers (n = 359) participating in both phases of the Sympathetic activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans (SABPA) study, was prospectively followed for three years. Personality traits (Basic Traits Inventory) and coping (Coping Strategy Indicator) scores were determined. Fasting serum samples for cTnT determination were collected. Established hypertension-related cTnT cut-off points of 4.2 pg/ml (Africans) and 5.6 pg/ml (Caucasians) were applied.Higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness scores were found in the Africans than in the Caucasians (p < 0.05). Both traits correlated with all three coping strategies in Caucasians, but only with DefS and avoidance coping in Africans. Over a period of three years, cTnT levels decreased in both races. Compared to Africans, Caucasians showed a greater recovery from the ethnic-specific cTnT cut-off point over time. In the Africans with high DefS scores, cTnT level changes were inversely associated with conscientiousness (adjusted R2 = 0.14; β = -0.26). In Caucasians scoring high in avoidance coping, conscientiousness (odds ratio 0.84) and neuroticism (odds ratio 0.90) showed a lower likelihood of predicting the cTnT cut-off point.In both races, conscientiousness may contribute to healthier stress coping responses and protect against cardiac ischaemia and risk of hypertension.
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Myburgh et al. (2022) conducted a cohort in Healthy (assessing cardiac and hypertension risk) (n=336). Conscientiousness vs. Lower conscientiousness was evaluated on Meeting the hypertension-related cardiac troponin T cut-off point of 5.6 pg/ml in Caucasians with high avoidance coping (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.96, p=0.013). Higher conscientiousness was associated with a 16% lower likelihood of meeting the hypertension-related cardiac troponin T cut-off point in Caucasians with high avoidance coping (OR 0.84).
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