Personality traits in treated Wilson's disease determined by means of the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP).
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to elucidate the personality traits of patients with treated Wilsons disease (WD) in comparison to healthy volunteers.


METHODS
Twenty-five WD patients, ten females and 15 males, with a mean age of 35.2 +/- 8.3 years completed the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), a self-report inventory comprising 15 separate scales. The results were compared to a control series comprising 200 men and 200 women drawn from the general population.


RESULTS
The patients with treated WD scored significantly lower than the healthy controls on aggressivity-hostility-related scales and the scale measuring Psychic Anxiety. Patients with predominantly hepatic symptoms had the lowest aggressivity-related scores and patients with predominantly neurological symptoms had the lowest Irritability, Guilt and Detachment scores and the highest Impulsiveness and Muscular Tension scores. Both groups scored low on the Somatic Anxiety scale.


CONCLUSIONS
The present results illustrate that patients with treated WD have significant deviations in personality traits, especially in aggressivity-hostility-related scales and Psychic Anxiety, compared to healthy controls when investigated by means of a self-report inventory, the KSP. The deviations were not related to age, age at onset or duration of the disease.
Portala
K
K
Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Uppsala University Hospital, SE-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden. Kamilla.Portala@UASpsyk.uu.se
Westermark
K
K
Ekselius
L
L
von Knorring
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006527:Hepatolenticular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010398:Penicillic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014266:Trientine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019345:Zinc Acetate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
C028100:penicillamide; D019345:Zinc Acetate; D010398:Penicillic Acid; D014266:Trientine