The Type AD Personality: A composite personality construct and its association with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in India is about 7% to 13%. CAD may exacerbate psychological distress and raise the risk of cardiac event following surgeries. AIM: To study the impact of personality type on psychological distress in individuals having CAD who underwent coronary angioplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional correlational study was carried out in the Cardiology department of a tertiary care hospital on 40 patients who had undergone coronary angioplasty for CAD. Data were collected during a period of 3 to 10 months, post coronary angioplasty. The subjects were interviewed and evaluated with the Type A/B Behaviour Pattern Scale, Type D Scale-14, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Locus of Control Scale, and Subjective Well-Being Inventory. Spearman's Rank Correlation coefficient assessed the association between personality and psychological distress. Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc analysis studied the relative impact of the Personality Type on psychological distress. RESULTS: Among 40 participants, 21 people had Type AD personality, 8 people had Type A personality, and 11 people had Type D personality. It was found that people who have a combination of Type A and Type D personality characteristics (Type AD personality) have more psychological distress than those having Type A or Type D personality alone, thereby demonstrating the relative impact of Type AD personality on psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The study shows the interrelation between personality and cardiac event and delineates the importance of considering the psychological distress as a major risk factor for CAD, especially after coronary angioplasty.