Metabolic Syndrome in Affective Disorders: Associations with Dark Triad Personality Traits

• Published in: Metabolites Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 956
• Main Authors: Brugger, Fiona, Schönthaler, Elena M. D, Baranyi, Andreas, Reininghaus, Eva Z, von Lewinski, Dirk, Dalkner, Nina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Affective disorders; Antisocial personality disorder; Blood pressure; Body Mass Index; Cholesterol; Dark Triad; Diabetes; Health aspects; Health behavior; Lifestyles; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic syndrome X; Narcissism; Nutrition research; Obesity; Personality; Personality traits; Psychological aspects; Psychological research; Risk factors; Social behavior; Austria
• DOI: 10.3390/metabo13080956
• ISSN: 2218-1989

Previous research has focused on the relationship between affective disorders (AD) and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Aside from biological and lifestyle factors, personality traits were identified as influencing aspects. In particular, the Dark Triad personality traits (DT; Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) were connected to both AD and worse somatic health, thus possibly resulting in MetS. This observational study aimed to investigate the associations between DT and anthropometric parameters and differences in the DT traits concerning the presence of MetS in individuals with AD. A total of 112 individuals (females = 59, males = 51, diverse = 2, Mage = 47.5, SDage = 11.5) with AD filled out the Short Dark Triad questionnaire. Body Mass Index (BMI) and MetS criteria, including blood pressure, waist circumference, lipid, and glucose levels, were assessed. For Machiavellianism, a positive association with BMI (r = 0.29, p < 0.05) and a negative association with systolic blood pressure (r = −0.23, p < 0.05) were found. No relationship between the overall MetS and DT score (r = 0.08, p = 0.409) was observed. The results were limited by the lack of a control group and the cross-sectional study design, which does not allow for the determination of causality. Machiavellianism was associated with a higher BMI and lower systolic blood pressure, indicating a deteriorating health effect of this trait. Possibly, the higher prevalence of MetS in AD stems from aspects such as lifestyle or medication intake, which might also be influenced by DT. Further research is needed to disentangle underlying mechanisms.