Association between Temperament Pattern and Hypertension in Adult Population: A Case-Control Study

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the main causes of morbidity and illness in the world. Until now, although the exact casualty of hypertension is not well established but Personality type can be considered as one of the effective factors in hypertension development as effects various aspects of the patient’s life style. In the current study, the relationship between hypertension and temperament has been investigated. Methods: This case-control study was performed on ۶۵ patients with hypertension and ۶۵ people with normal blood pressure. Temperament patterns were examined by the TCI standardized questionnaire with ۱۲۵ questions that examines temperament and character dimensions. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS ۲۰ software using statistical tests. Results: In this study, there was no significant difference in average age and level of education between two groups include hypertensive and non-hypertensive (P-Value=۰.۲۲). However hypertensive group the prevalence of diabetes (P<۰.۰۰۱), hyperlipidemia (P<۰.۰۰۱), and cardiac disease (P=۰.۰۰۱) were significantly higher than non- hypertensive group. High blood pressure had a significant relation with harm avoidance temperament but there was not this relation with other temperament models such as average number for novelty seeking, reward dependent and persistence temperament. Conclusion: Evaluation temperament with the questionnaire can provide important information to predict the risk of hypertension in primary care. Regarding the temperament side effects on the health issue, new educational programs for medical students in this field are suggested.