Association between Type D personality and outcomes in patients with non-ischemic heart failure

The “distressed” (Type D) personality trait has been reported to be over-represented in patients with heart failure (HF) compared to the background population and may provide prognostic information for mortality. We examined the association between Type D personality and outcomes in the DANISH trial (The Danish Study to Assess the Efficacy of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators in Patients with Non-ischemic Systolic Heart Failure on Mortality).

The DANISH trial included a total of 1116 patients with non-ischemic HF on guideline-recommended therapy. Type D personality was assessed with the Type D Scale (DS14) at baseline and investigated through follow-up accordingly. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare hazard ratios (HR) of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

Type D personality assessment was completed by 873 (78%) patients at baseline and Type D personality was found in 120 (14%) patients. The median follow-up was 67 months (interquartile range [IQR] 48–83). Among patients with versus without Type D personality, 22% versus 19% died from all-cause yielding similar incidence rates of 4.62 (95% CI 3.14–6.87) versus 3.95 (95% CI 3.37–4.66) per 100 person-years. The adjusted risk of all-cause mortality was not significantly different in patients with versus without Type D personality with an adjusted HR of 1.31 (95% CI 0.84–2.03, p = 0.23) with similar results for cardiovascular death (HR 1.46 (95% CI 0.88–2.44, p = 0.15).

Type D personality was not significantly associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality or cardiovascular death in patients with non-ischemic HF.