August 16th, 2010
Antagonistic People and Carotid Narrowing
Larry Husten, PHD
Researchers from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging studied 5,614 people in four Italian villages and found that those who scored high on a test of antagonism — particularly those who were manipulative and aggressive — were more likely than their more agreeable counterparts to have carotid thickening, as measured by carotid-artery intima media thickness, and were more likely to have greater progression of the thickening over 3 years. Angelina Sutin and colleagues also found that women who were antagonistic had similar carotid thickening as men. The researchers said the effect of having antagonistic traits was similar in magnitude to the effect of metabolic syndrome.
In their report in Hypertension, the researchers discussed the clinical implications of their study:
Whereas personality traits, such as antagonism, are basic tendencies that are resistant to change, the expression of these traits, or their characteristic adaptations, is modifiable. Determining which personality traits contribute to arterial thickening will help to identify who is most at risk and who would benefit most from targeted interventions. Interventions aimed at modifying coping mechanisms, improving anger management as well as other behavioral, emotional, and cognitive expressions of trait antagonism (including unhealthy lifestyles), can play an important role in clinical practice.
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