Shorter telomere length (TL) may indicate premature cellular aging and increased risk for disease. While there is substantial evidence for shorter TL in individuals suffering from psychiatric disorders, data is scarce on maladaptive personality traits related to coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of TL with hostility and defensiveness in individuals with CAD or other non-cardiovascular illnesses and whether associations were moderated by CAD status and sex. One thousand thirty-six individuals (Mage = 65.40 ± 6.73 years) with and without CAD completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Cook–Medley Hostility Scale. Relative TL was measured via quantitative polymerase chain reaction of total genomic DNA samples. Analyses involved hierarchical regressions on TL, performed separately for hostility and defensiveness, controlling for pertinent sociodemographic, behavioural, and medical risk factors. Separate analyses were performed on 25 healthy participants. A hostility by sex interaction emerged (β = − .08, p = .006) in the patient groups, where greater hostility was associated with shorter TL in women only (p < .01). A Defensiveness by CAD status interaction (β = − .06, p = .049) revealed longer TL in more defensive CAD patients only (p = .06). In healthy men, shorter TL was observed in those with greater defensiveness (β = .52, p = .006) but lower hostility (β = − .43, p = .049). Hostility and defensiveness are differentially associated with TL as a function of sex and health status. The implication of these results for health remains to be determined, but propose an additional pathway through which the effect of maladaptive personality traits may contribute to CV and other disease.

中文翻译：

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敌意和防御性与端粒长度的关联受性别和健康状况的影响

较短的端粒长度 (TL) 可能表明细胞过早老化和疾病风险增加。虽然有大量证据表明患有精神疾病的个体的 TL 较短，但关于与冠状动脉疾病 (CAD) 相关的适应不良人格特征的数据很少。本研究的目的是评估 TL 与 CAD 或其他非心血管疾病个体的敌意和防御性的关联，以及关联是否受 CAD 状态和性别的调节。一千三十六名有和没有 CAD 的人（法师 = 65.40 ± 6.73 岁）完成了 Marlowe-Crowne 社会期望量表和 Cook-Medley 敌意量表。通过总基因组 DNA 样品的定量聚合酶链反应测量相对 TL。分析涉及对 TL 的分层回归，分别进行敌意和防御，控制相关的社会人口、行为和医疗风险因素。对 25 名健康参与者进行了单独的分析。在患者组中出现了性别互动的敌意（β = - .08，p = .006），其中更大的敌意仅与女性更短的 TL 相关（p < .01）。CAD 状态相互作用的防御性 (β = − .06, p = .049) 仅在更具防御性的 CAD 患者中显示出更长的 TL (p = .06)。在健康男性中，防御性更强（β = .52，p = .006）但敌意较低（β = - .43，p = .049）的人观察到较短的 TL。作为性别和健康状况的函数，敌意和防御性与 TL 有不同的关联。这些结果对健康的影响仍有待确定，