Influences of the Big Five personality traits on the treatment response and longitudinal course of depression in patients with acute coronary syndrome: A randomised controlled trial.
Influences of the Big Five personality traits on the treatment response and longitudinal course of depression in patients with acute coronary syndrome: A randomised controlled trial.



This naturalistic observational study initially recruited 1152 ACS patients; 685 patients completed personality assessments at baseline, of whom 630 were followed-up one year later. Of the 294 patients with depression, 207 participated in a 24-week double blind trial of escitalopram or placebo. The remaining 87 patients who received medical treatment only and the 391 who had not depression were also followed in a one year naturalistic observational study. The Big five personality traits were assessed using the Big Five Inventory. The influences of personality on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score changes were analysed using a mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of covariance.



A Cluster analysis identified two personality types: resilient and vulnerable. The vulnerable personality type was characterized by lower extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness - but higher neuroticism - than the resilient type. This personality type was independently associated with a poorer outcome of depression in ACS patients during the 24-week treatment period and the one year longitudinal follow-up period compared to the resilient personality type, irrespective of treatment allocation.



Recruitment from a single institution may limit generalisability. Personality traits were investigated 12-weeks after ACS; thus, the responses may have been influenced by the prior receipt of escitalopram.



Personality types influences the treatment outcome and longitudinal course of depression in ACS patients independent of antidepressant treatment.
Mental Health Clinic, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, South Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Seon-Young
SY
Kim
King's college London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
Robert
R
Stewart
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Kyung-Yeol
KY
Bae
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Sung-Wan
SW
Kim
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Il-Seon
IS
Shin
Department of Cardiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Young Joon
YJ
Hong
Department of Cardiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Youngkeun
Y
Ahn
Department of Cardiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Myung Ho
MH
Jeong
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Jin-Sang
JS
Yoon
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea. Electronic address: jmkim@chonnam.ac.kr.
Jae-Min
JM
Kim
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D015283:Citalopram