TY - JOUR
T1 - Personality traits and circadian blood pressure patterns
T2 - A 7-year prospective study
AU - Terracciano, Antonio
AU - Strait, James
AU - Scuteri, Angelo
AU - Meirelles, Osorio
AU - Sutin, Angelina R.
AU - Tarasov, Kirill
AU - Ding, Jun
AU - Marongiu, Michele
AU - Orru, Marco
AU - Pilia, Maria Grazia
AU - Cucca, Francesco
AU - Lakatta, Edward
AU - Schlessinger, David
PY - 2014/4
Y1 - 2014/4
N2 - OBJECTIVE: A nighttime dip in blood pressure is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We examined whether personality traits predict nighttime dipping blood pressure. METHODS: A community-based sample of 2848 adults from Sardinia (Italy) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and 7 years later were examined with 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The primary analyses examined the associations of personality traits with continuous and categorical measures of mean arterial, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure nighttime dipping. RESULTS: Agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with more nocturnal blood pressure dipping (β = .05 [p = .025] and β = .07 [p < .001], respectively) and lower systolic blood pressure at night (β = -.05 [p = .018] and β = -.03 [p = .072], respectively). Nondippers were particularly more impulsive (p = .009), less trusting (p = .004), and less self-disciplined (p = .001), but there was no significant association between nocturnal dipping blood pressure and trait anxiety (p = .78) or depression (p = .59). The associations were stronger when comparing extreme dippers (nighttime drop = 20%) to reverse dippers (nighttime increase in blood pressure). Indeed, scoring 1 standard deviation higher on conscientiousness was associated with approximately 40% reduced risk of reverse dipping (odds ratio = 1.43, confidence interval = 1.08-1.91). CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence that reduced nighttime blood pressure dipping is associated with antagonism and impulsivity-related traits but not with measures of emotional vulnerability. The strongest associations were found with conscientiousness, a trait that may have a broad impact on cardiovascular health.
AB - OBJECTIVE: A nighttime dip in blood pressure is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We examined whether personality traits predict nighttime dipping blood pressure. METHODS: A community-based sample of 2848 adults from Sardinia (Italy) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and 7 years later were examined with 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The primary analyses examined the associations of personality traits with continuous and categorical measures of mean arterial, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure nighttime dipping. RESULTS: Agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with more nocturnal blood pressure dipping (β = .05 [p = .025] and β = .07 [p < .001], respectively) and lower systolic blood pressure at night (β = -.05 [p = .018] and β = -.03 [p = .072], respectively). Nondippers were particularly more impulsive (p = .009), less trusting (p = .004), and less self-disciplined (p = .001), but there was no significant association between nocturnal dipping blood pressure and trait anxiety (p = .78) or depression (p = .59). The associations were stronger when comparing extreme dippers (nighttime drop = 20%) to reverse dippers (nighttime increase in blood pressure). Indeed, scoring 1 standard deviation higher on conscientiousness was associated with approximately 40% reduced risk of reverse dipping (odds ratio = 1.43, confidence interval = 1.08-1.91). CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence that reduced nighttime blood pressure dipping is associated with antagonism and impulsivity-related traits but not with measures of emotional vulnerability. The strongest associations were found with conscientiousness, a trait that may have a broad impact on cardiovascular health.
KW - Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
KW - Cardiovascular
KW - Circadian rhythm
KW - Conscientiousness
KW - Dipping
KW - Impulsivity
KW - Personality
KW - Systolic blood pressure
KW - Trust
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U2 - 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000035
DO - 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000035
M3 - Article
C2 - 24608035
AN - SCOPUS:84898417296
VL - 76
SP - 237
EP - 243
JO - Psychosomatic Medicine
JF - Psychosomatic Medicine
SN - 0033-3174
IS - 3
ER -