Type D personalities and heart problems

Research into the links between health and personality has tended to concentrate on Type A personalities - competitive go-getters who are thought to be more at risk of a heart attack - and the more laid-back Type B personalities who are thought to be at a lower risk. Recently, however, there has been more research into the Type D personality - people who experience a lot of negative emotions but do not express them for fear of rejection. In people who have had heart failure this personality type is associated with anxiety, depression and a reduced state of health. Dutch researcher Aline Pelle has been looking into this and found that people with Type D personalities were much less likely to see a doctor or nurse if they experienced heart-failure symptoms. Type D patients with a non type D partner reported a lower quality of marriage than type D personalities. Although the type D personalities were less healthy they were no more likely to die than other people.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120314.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader