605 men and 844 women (average age 31.6 year, s.d. = 5.0, range = 24-39) provided data on IMT and traits of the psychobiological model, 725 men and 1011 women were assessed for IMT and the five-factor model (age 37.7 year, s.d. = 5.0, range = 30-45). Robust multidimensional Hotelling鈥檚 T2 statistic was used to detect personality differences between participants with high IMT and others. Model-based clustering method further explored the effect.
Those with a high level of subclinical atherosclerosis within the sample (highest IMT-decile) had a combined higher persistence (i.e., were perseverative or perfectionistic), more disorganized (schizotypal) character, and more antisocial temperamental configuration than others (P = 0.019). No effect was found for the five-factor model (P = 0.978). Traditional methods that did not account for multidimensionality and nonlinearity did not detect an association.
Psychological well-being may have positive effects on health that reduce atherosclerosis in the population as a whole. Increased subclinical atherosclerosis was associated with a profile that combines known risk factors, such as cynical distrust and hostile tendencies. More frequent use of statistical procedures that can cope with non-linear interactions in complex psychobiological systems may facilitate scientific advances in health promotion.