Type D personality among noncardiovascular patient populations: a systematic review☆
Received 7 July 2009; accepted 23 September 2009. published online 26 October 2009.
Abstract
Objective
This article reviews all available literature concerning the implications of Type D personality (the conjoint effects of negative affectivity and social inhibition) among patients with noncardiovascular conditions.
Methods
Published papers were included if they studied Type D personality among noncardiovascular patient populations. Twelve articles met our inclusion criteria and were subjected to a methodological quality checklist (e.g., sample size, response rate, Type D measurement).
Results
The methodological quality of the selected studies was quite good. The noncardiovascular patient populations included chronic pain, asthma, tinnitus, sleep apnea, primary care patients, vulvovaginal candidiasis, mild traumatic brain injury, vertigo, melanoma and diabetic foot syndrome. Type D personality was associated with an increased number or severity of reported health complaints, heightened the perception of negative emotions (e.g., depression and anxiety), had an adverse effect on health-related behaviors, was associated with poor adherence to treatment and significantly reduced effort to perform during diagnostic testing.
Conclusion
Type D is a vulnerability factor that not only affects people with cardiovascular conditions but also those with other medical conditions. Type D was associated with poor physical and mental health status and poor self-management of the disease. Consequently, including Type D in future studies seems warranted.
CoRPS — Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic diseases, Department of Medical Psychology, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
ABSTRACT