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dc.contributor.advisorGrønli, Ole Kristian
dc.contributor.authorLehtonen, Milla
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-04T05:50:31Z
dc.date.available2024-07-04T05:50:31Z
dc.date.issued2024-05-27en
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. In recent decades researchers have identified psychological factors which could influence the cardiovascular risk profile. Alongside traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, personality traits may contribute to behavioral and immunological effects which could influence the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to examine if high neuroticism, as described in the Big Five personality model, causes an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease and stroke). Material and methods: Two separate literature searches were conducted in MedLine (22.08.2023) and APA PsycNet (26.01.2024). In total, 139 records from the literature searches were screened and assessed for eligibility. Cohort studies published during the past 10 years which include over 1000 participants were eligible for the current review. A total of 10 cohort studies or reviews of longitudinal studies were included in the final analysis. The risk of bias was assessed with some of the principles described in the GRADE evaluation method. Results: In total, 7 out of 10 research papers found a small yet significant link between high neuroticism and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The HR for MI/CHD ranged between HR 1.03 (CI 1.02-1.04) and HR 1.14 (CI 1.07–1.21) in the three largest study samples included. The results indicate a small but statistically significant neuroticism mediated risk. High conscientiousness had a protective effect against heart disease. The results among stroke risk were inconsistent and did not provide sufficient evidence for indicating an association. Conclusion: This literature review found a link between high neuroticism and an increased risk of developing myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease. Nevertheless, the risk was rather small in comparison to the risk imposed by the traditional risk factors. The evidence for personality mediated stroke risk was insufficient.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/34059
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherUiT Norges arktiske universitetno
dc.publisherUiT The Arctic University of Norwayen
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2024 The Author(s)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0en_US
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)en_US
dc.subject.courseIDMED-3950
dc.subjectPersonalityen_US
dc.subjectNeuroticismen_US
dc.subjectCardiovascular diseaseen_US
dc.subjectCoronary heart diseaseen_US
dc.subjectMyocardial infarctionen_US
dc.subjectStrokeen_US
dc.subjectBig Fiveen_US
dc.titleCan Thoughts Make You Physically Ill? Cardiovascular Complications of Neuroticismen_US
dc.typeMaster thesisen
dc.typeMastergradsoppgaveno


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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)