Research published in the open-access journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care reveals that individuals with type 2 diabetes who exhibit lower levels of diligence face a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).
This finding underscores the strong link between diabetes and cardiovascular health.
The study suggests that while personality traits can affect cardiovascular risk, maintaining a healthy lifestyle remains crucial, regardless of an individual’s level of diligence. Effective management of type 2 diabetes hinges on consistent healthy behaviors and strict adherence to medication, implying that personality traits may play a substantial role in cardiovascular disease risk.
To investigate this relationship, researchers monitored the health of 8,794 participants with type 2 diabetes who joined the UK Biobank study between 2006 and 2010. They assessed personality traits based on the Big Five personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism. Due to the lack of direct measures for these traits in the UK Biobank, the study used proxies such as sociability, warmth, diligence, curiosity, and nervousness, derived from self-reported mental health and social support data.
Over an average follow-up period of approximately 13 years, 2,110 participants developed cardiovascular disease. The findings indicated that higher diligence levels correlated with a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular events, even when accounting for other influential factors. Specifically, individuals demonstrating diligence were 7% less likely to experience any cardiovascular event, 10% less likely to suffer a heart attack, 17% less likely to have an ischaemic stroke, 8% less likely to develop atrial fibrillation, and 16% less likely to face heart failure.
Furthermore, those with higher diligence levels tended to adopt healthier lifestyles compared to their less diligent counterparts.
However, regardless of diligence, individuals who maintained healthy lifestyle habits exhibited better cardiovascular outcomes than those who did not.
Diligence, reflecting conscientiousness, is characterized by organized, disciplined, and resourceful behavior. Previous studies have suggested that people with this trait are less likely to smoke and more inclined to engage in physical activity.
The researchers caution that this observational study cannot definitively establish cause and effect. They also note limitations, including the inability to comprehensively evaluate the impact of psychological factors like depression and anxiety, which are known to influence cardiovascular disease risk. Additionally, data on other lifestyle factors, such as alcohol consumption, diet, and sleep patterns, were not available, and the predominantly White demographic of the UK Biobank may limit the applicability of the findings to other ethnic groups.
In conclusion, the researchers assert that lower diligence levels are significantly associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes, in type 2 diabetes patients. They emphasize that unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are more common among those with low diligence scores. Nevertheless, the presence of healthy lifestyle factors benefits cardiovascular health across both high and low diligence groups.
This research highlights the importance of assessing personality traits for predicting cardiovascular risk and suggests that modifying lifestyle factors could serve as a preventive strategy for patients with type 2 diabetes.