Trait Anger, Hostility, and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetes- Related Complications: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

• Published in: Current diabetes reviews Vol. 19; no. 4; p. e290322202789
• Main Authors: Mohseni, Marzia, Lindekilde, Nanna, Forget, Geneviève, Burns, Rachel J, Pouwer, Frans, Schmitz, Norbert, Deschênes, Sonya S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United Arab Emirates 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Adult; Anger; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Hostility; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Risk Factors; Anger; type 2 diabetes; diabetes complications; hostility; systematic review; prospective studies
• ISSN: 1875-6417
• DOI: 10.2174/1573399818666220329185229

Research suggests associations between trait anger, hostility, and type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications, though evidence from longitudinal studies has not yet been synthesized.
The present systematic review examined findings from longitudinal research on trait anger or hostility and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes or diabetes-related complications. The review protocol was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020216356).
Electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL) were searched for articles and abstracts published up to December 15, 2020. Peer-reviewed longitudinal studies with adult samples, with effect estimates reported for trait anger/hostility and incident diabetes or diabetes-related complications, were included. Title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction, and quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were conducted by two independent reviewers. A narrative synthesis of the extracted data was conducted according to the Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis guidelines.
Five studies (N = 155,146 participants) met the inclusion criteria. While results were mixed, our synthesis suggested an overall positive association between high trait-anger/hostility and an increased risk of incident diabetes. Only one study met the criteria for the diabetes-related complications outcome, which demonstrated a positive association between hostility and incident coronary heart disease but no significant association between hostility and incident stroke.
Based on the available longitudinal evidence, trait anger and hostility are associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the association between trait-anger or hostility and the risk of diabetes-related complications.