The relationship between biomarkers and the severity of coronary artery disease: The moderating role of affective temperament

The aim of this study was to determine the moderating role of affective temperament in the relationship between biomarkers (troponin, white blood cell count, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio) and the severity of coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death among adults worldwide and is considered as an inflammatory disease. Recent studies, in addition to biological factors, have focused on the role of psychological factors in the incidence and severity of this disease.

In this study, 200 patients (145 males, 55 females) with coronary artery disease admitted to Shahid Rajaei Hospital in Tehran in 2018-2019 were selected by continuous sampling. Participants were asked to complete the positive and negative affectivity scale (Besharat, 2014). Also, the number of biomarkers was assessed through blood tests and the number of involved vessels was assessed through angiography and diagnosis by a specialist physician.

The results of hierarchical multiple regression showed that in the first step, 62 percent of the variance of coronary artery disease was predicted by biomarkers, and by entering the interaction between predictor variables (severity of coronary artery disease) and moderating variables (positive affectivity and negative affectivity), explanation of variance of the coronary artery disease increased by 9 percent and reached to 71 percent.

Based on the findings of the study, affective temperament affects the relationship between biomarkers and the severity of coronary artery disease, and therefore, as a psychological factor, could plays an important role in preventing coronary artery disease and decrease the number of deaths and the annual cost of this disease.