Abstract
PURPOSE: The association between extraversion personality and high blood pressure (BP) has not been well-studied. This study aims to explore the association between extraversion personality and the BP level in a large sample of adolescents. METHODS: As an ongoing study, 5,246 children aged 6-9 years were recruited using a stratified cluster sampling method in 2014. The extraversion personality trait, assessed by the Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ, answered by adolescents) in 2019, was used in the main analysis. A total of 3,407 participants were eligible and included in this analysis. RESULTS: The EPQ extraversion score was negatively associated with a systolic BP, a diastolic BP, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in a univariate analysis. After adjusting for other covariates, high extraversion score was negatively associated with systolic BP (β = -0.026; 95% CI = -0.047, -0.004; p = 0.002). There was an interaction between regions and the extraversion score on systolic BP (P (interaction) = 0.037). The stratified analysis showed that, in rural areas, the extraversion score was negatively associated with systolic BP (β = -0.050; 95% CI = -0.081, -0.016; p = 0.004). However, we did find an association between the extraversion score and systolic BP in urban areas (β = 0.000; 95% CI = -0.028, 0.028; p = 0.996). Similar results were observed for the extraversion assessed by parents. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that extraversion personality was negatively associated with high BP in adolescents, especially for those who were living in rural areas. Our results suggested that a comprehensive intervention should be implemented to promote psychological health in adolescents.