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OBJECTIVE: In this prospective follow-up study we investigated whether the type D personality construct (the tendency to experience negative emotions and to be socially inhibited) exerts an independent effect on disease-specific health status in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients, after adjustment for disease severity and depressive symptoms. METHODS: Patients (n = 503) were assessed on demographic and clinical variables and completed the type D scale (DS14) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) within the first week of hospital admission for acute MI. Two months post-MI, all patients completed the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) interview. After 18 months, they filled out the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) to assess disease-specific health status. RESULTS: At follow-up, type D patients had significantly lower mean scores on all SAQ subscales, indicating worse disease-specific health status, compared to non-type D patients (all p values or = 10) also reported significantly lower SAQ scores compared to non-depressed patients. CONCLUSIONS: The type D construct is an independent predictor of impaired disease-specific health status. Type D personality, in addition to depression, may thus be an important psychological factor that deserves attention during the period of rehabilitation in post-MI patients.
Mols et al. (Wed,) studied this question.