Personality traits and abnormal glucose regulation in middle-aged Swedish men and women.
OBJECTIVE
To examine associations between personality and abnormal glucose regulation.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study comprised 2152 men and 3143 women (43-66 years). Oral glucose tolerance test identified 316 men and 213 women with previously unknown impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), IFG+IGT, or type 2 diabetes. Personality traits antagonism (low agreeableness), impulsivity (low conscientiousness), hedonic capacity (high extraversion), negative affectivity (high neuroticism) and alexithymia (low openness) were measured by a self-report inventory. Based on distribution of scores, responses were divided into "low" (<1 SD), "middle" (±1 SD) and "high" (>1 SD). Middle groups were considered reference groups. Prevalence odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated.


RESULTS
In men, OR for low antagonism was 0.3 (CI 0.2-0.6) (age- and multi-adjusted models) while in women, neither high nor low antagonism was associated to abnormal glucose regulation. Men and women with high hedonic capacity had ORs 0.5 (0.3-0.9) and 0.6 (0.4-1.0), respectively (age- and multi-adjusted models). The other scales illustrated no significant associations.


CONCLUSIONS
No elevated risk of abnormal glucose regulation was observed for deviating scores on personality scales. Instead, reduced risks were indicated in men with low antagonism, and in men and women with high hedonic capacity.
Dep. of Medicine, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. anna-karin.eriksson@karolinska.se
Anna-Karin
AK
Eriksson
J Petter
JP
Gustavsson
Agneta
A
Hilding
Fredrik
F
Granath
Anders
A
Ekbom
Claes-Göran
CG
Ostenson
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden
D001786:Blood Glucose