Abstract

BackgroundShorter telomere length (TL) may indicate premature cellular aging and increased risk for disease. While there is substantial evidence for shorter TL in individuals suffering from psychiatric disorders, data is scarce on maladaptive personality traits related to coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of TL with hostility and defensiveness in individuals with CAD or other non-cardiovascular illnesses and whether associations were moderated by CAD status and sex.MethodsOne thousand thirty-six individuals (Mage = 65.40 ± 6.73 years) with and without CAD completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Cook–Medley Hostility Scale. Relative TL was measured via quantitative polymerase chain reaction of total genomic DNA samples. Analyses involved hierarchical regressions on TL, performed separately for hostility and defensiveness, controlling for pertinent sociodemographic, behavioural, and medical risk factors. Separate analyses were performed on 25 healthy participants.ResultsA hostility by sex interaction emerged (β = − .08, p = .006) in the patient groups, where greater hostility was associated with shorter TL in women only (p < .01). A Defensiveness by CAD status interaction (β = − .06, p = .049) revealed longer TL in more defensive CAD patients only (p = .06). In healthy men, shorter TL was observed in those with greater defensiveness (β = .52, p = .006) but lower hostility (β = − .43, p = .049).ConclusionHostility and defensiveness are differentially associated with TL as a function of sex and health status. The implication of these results for health remains to be determined, but propose an additional pathway through which the effect of maladaptive personality traits may contribute to CV and other disease.

Highlights

  • Hostility is a stable personality trait accompanied by frequent feelings of anger, aggressive behaviour, and/or the tendency to devalue or to be cynical of others [1]

  • In the non-CVD illness group only, men were more likely to have a history of HTA, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes compared to women

  • telomere length (TL) was negatively associated with age in all three groups (CAD: r = − .22, p < .001; non-CVD illness: r = − .29, p < .001; healthy: r = − .43, p < .05)

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Summary

Introduction

Hostility is a stable personality trait accompanied by frequent feelings of anger, aggressive behaviour, and/or the tendency to devalue or to be cynical of others [1] It has been established as a robust risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) and premature mortality [2, 3] as well as with all-cause mortality [4]. The biological mechanisms responsible for the ill effects of hostility and defensiveness remain to this day poorly understood It is hypothesized, to at least partly reflect the sustained or cumulative impact of alterations in various intermediary risk factors for CAD (e.g., physiological reactivity to stress, inflammation, blood pressure, and other metabolic parameters) observed in more hostile or defensive individuals [10,11,12,13,14,15,16]. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of TL with hostility and defensiveness in individuals with CAD or other non-cardiovascular illnesses and whether associations were moderated by CAD status and sex

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