Type D Personality Associated With Increased Risk for Mortality in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease.
Dirkjan Kauw, Dounya Schoormans, Gertjan Tj Sieswerda and 9 others
PMID 32858606WHAT IT FOUND
In adults with congenital heart disease, those with type D personality (negative feelings and social inhibition) were more likely to die from any cause over median 7 years: 10% died versus 6%.
Cause of death did not differ.
Key findings
01Type D personality was present in 225 patients (21%) among 1055 adults with congenital heart disease.
02Type D personality was associated with all-cause mortality in multivariable analysis (hazard ratio 1.94; 95% confidence interval 1.05-3.57; P = .03), and 23 patients with type D died versus 48 patients without type D.
03The distribution of causes of death did not differ significantly between patients with and without type D personality.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only type D personality was assessed, not other personality types, and it was measured once at baseline. Functional status was patient reported, and patients with type D may report poorer health status, so actual functional severity may have been underestimated. The cohort came from patients registered in clinical follow-up, which may overrepresent more severe or complex disease and introduce selection bias. Multivariable analysis adjusted only for age and sex, so differences in New York Heart Association class, diabetes, renal disease, rheumatic disorders, depression, unemployment, and marital status may confound the association. Cause of death was irretrievable in 24% of cases.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that type D personality causes death or that screening it will improve survival. This was an observational registry follow-up, and no intervention was tested.