Are personality traits associated with white-coat and masked hypertension?

Methods: A community-based sample of 2838 adults from Sardinia (Italy) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, and 7 years later, blood pressure was assessed in the clinic and with ambulatory monitoring. Logistic regressions were used to test whether anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness predicted the white-coat and masked hypertension phenomena. Age, sex, and antihypertensive medication use were tested as moderators.

Objectives: Anxiety and other psychological dispositions are thought to be associated with blood pressure. This study tests whether personality traits have long-term associations with masked and white-coat effects.