Background Type D personality has been previously shown to increase the risk for mortality in patients with acquired heart disease. Objective We aimed to compare mortality in adult patients with... Show moreBackground Type D personality has been previously shown to increase the risk for mortality in patients with acquired heart disease. Objective We aimed to compare mortality in adult patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) with and without type D. Methods Survival was assessed using prospective data from the Dutch national Congenital Corvitia registry for adults with CHD. Patients were randomly selected from the registry and characterized at inclusion in 2009 for the presence of type D using the DS14 questionnaire. Results One thousand fifty-five patients, with 484 (46%) males, a mean (SD) age of 41 (14) years, 613 (58%) having mild CHD, 348 (33%) having moderate CHD, and 94 (9%) having severe CHD, were included. Type D personality was present in 225 patients (21%). Type D was associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality independent of age, sex, New York Heart Association class, number of prescribed medications, depression, employment status, and marital status (hazard ratio, 1.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-3.57; P = .033). Conclusion Type D personality was associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality in adult patients with CHD. Show less
BACKGROUND Type D personality, characterized by high levels of negative affectivity and social inhibition, is related to mortality, morbidity, poor health status, quality of life (QoL) and less... Show moreBACKGROUND Type D personality, characterized by high levels of negative affectivity and social inhibition, is related to mortality, morbidity, poor health status, quality of life (QoL) and less healthcare utilization in various cardiovascular patient groups. To date, studies in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) are lacking. AIMS (1) To examine the prevalence of type D personality in CHD patients; (2) to compare type D to non-type D patients with regard to disease severity, functional status, health status and QoL; and (3) to examine the extent to which type D personality is independently related to healthcare utilization. METHODS A total of 1109 adult CHD patients were included in a questionnaire survey. Due to missing data, 302 patients were excluded. RESULTS The prevalence of Type D personality was 20.4%. Type D patients reported a poorer functional status, health status and QoL than non-type D patients (p<0.05). Type D patients reported less healthcare use than non-type D patients (primary and cardiac outpatient healthcare: adjusted OR=0.56, 95% CI=0.35-0.90; inpatient healthcare: adjusted OR=0.38, 95% CI=0.17-0.83). Results of a post-hoc analysis showed a high prevalence of type D personality in patients with a poor functional status who did not consult their cardiologist. CONCLUSION type D patients report a poorer functional status, health status and QoL, but less healthcare utilization. In clinical practice, patients should be screened for type D personality, since social inhibition may prevent them from contacting a healthcare provider in the event of symptom aggravation. Show less
