Study on personality traits of patients with functional dyspepsia

Abstract

Objective To explore the personality traits of patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods From October 2016 to May 2017, 80 patients with FD who were admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University were enrolled, among them 40 patients were in the depression and anxiety group and 40 patients were in the non depression or anxiety group. In addition, 40 healthy controls who underwent physical examination at the same period were included. Four dimensions including extroversion, neuroticism, psychoticism and masking of the subjects were analyzed by Eysenck personality questionnaire and their personality traits were evaluated. T-test and chi-square test were performed for statistical analysis. Results The extroversion scores of the depression and anxiety group, the non depression or anxiety group and the healthy control group were 8.18±3.80, 8.65±4.16 and 10.95±3.40, respectively; and the scores of the depression and anxiety group and the non depression or anxiety group were both lower than that of the healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=-3.443 and -2.708, both P 0.05). The psychoticism scores of the depression and anxiety group, the non depression or anxiety group and the healthy control group were 7.30±3.16, 5.93±2.50 and 4.93±1.87, respectively; the psychoticism score of the depression and anxiety group was higher than those of the non depression or anxiety group and the healthy controls, and the differences were statistically significant (t=2.158 and 4.086, both P<0.05); and the score of the non depression or anxiety group was higher than that of the healthy control group, and the difference was statistically significant (t=2.027, P=0.046). The masking scores of the depression and anxiety group, the non depression or anxiety group and the healthy control group were 13.48±4.24, 11.68±4.64 and 11.10±3.93, respectively, the score of the depression and anxiety group was higher than that of the healthy control group, and the difference was statistically significant (t=2.598, P=0.011). The percentages of introversional personality of the depression and anxiety group, the non depression or anxiety group and the healthy control group were 30.0% (12/40), 30.0% (12/40) and 7.5% (3/40), respectively; the percentages of the depression and anxiety group and the non depression or anxiety group were both higher than that of the healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant (both χ2=5.251, P=0.022). The percentages of psychotic personality of the depression and anxiety group, the non depression or anxiety group and the healthy control group were 77.5% (31/40), 65.0% (26/40) and 45.0% (18/40), respectively; the percentage of the depression and anxiety group was higher than that of the healthy control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=8.901, P=0.003). Conclusions The characteristics of personality traits of FD patients are introversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. Whether FD patients are associated with anxiety and depression is related to neuroticism and psychoticism. Psychological interventions can effectively improve the clinical symptoms of some FD patients. Key words: Introversion (psychology); Functional dyspepsia; Personality trait; Neuroticism; Psychoticism