Epidemiological assessment of the role of human temperament type in the formation of infectious morbidity

Objective: To evaluate the role of a person’s temperament type in the formation of infectious diseases based on the results of a comprehensive multicenter study in various groups of military personnel and patients of military medical organizations.
Materials and methods: The results of a retrospective epidemiological analysis of data on infectious diseases in the groups of cadets of military educational organizations of St.Petersburg from among contract servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, conscripts of military units of the Leningrad Military District and patients of the hemodialysis department of the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy for the period from 2018 to 2024 were used. The results of determining the type of temperament of individuals included in the study (n = 1714) were also used, using the personality questionnaire of G. Eysenck (EPI temperament test, option A), assessment of situational and personal anxiety using the Spielberg-Khanin Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and a health self-assessment questionnaire. The inclusion criterion was the presence of voluntary informed consent to participate in the study, the exclusion criterion was the absence or withdrawal of voluntary informed consent to participate in the study. Results: The predictable prevailing average long-term share of acute respiratory infections of the upper respiratory tract (ARI URT) was shown for all groups in the study period. It was found that among military cadets (both the RF Armed Forces and the SRV Armed Forces), individuals with the “sanguine” and “choleric” temperament types predominated. It was shown that the increased average annual incidence of ARI URT diseases had a weak correlation with the “melancholic” temperament type with a high level of personal and situational anxiety in the groups of military cadets of the RF Armed Forces and the SRV Armed Forces. It was found that in most cases (67.7% ± 5.2% of cases), military personnel of all groups with the “melancholic” temperament type with a high level of personal and situational anxiety noted the presence of frequent colds (more than 3 times a year) in childhood and adolescence. Behavioral risk factors were identified, although they do not directly affect the occurrence of infectious diseases, but play a significant role in maintaining epidemiological distress. A comparative analysis of the registered incidence of COVID-19 with the results of determining the type of temperament, levels of personal and situational anxiety of individuals in this group showed that it had a weak correlation with the type of temperament “choleric” and “sanguine” and low levels of situational and personal anxiety.
Conclusion: Thus, the role of temperament type and levels of personal and situational anxiety in the formation of infectious diseases is supportive and consists of their specific complex influence on human behavioral preferences associated with the epidemic situation and awareness, or, conversely, denial of the need to implement preventive and treatment measures.

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