Personality traits, emotional disorders and adaptation of elderly men and women with chronic cerebral ischemia

Objective. To conduct a comparative analysis of personality traits, emotional disorders and adaptation of elderly men and women in the early stages of chronic cerebral ischemia (CCI).

Material and methods. We examined 120 patients with early manifestations of CBI – 48 men and 72 women (mean age is, respectively, 64.3 ± 0.5 and 65.0 ± 0.6 years). The study of personality traits was carried out using the method of multifactorial personality research of R. Kettell. Emotional disorders were identified according to ICD-X criteria, insomnia according to ICDS‑2 criteria. The level of general asthenia was assessed according to the MFI‑20 scale, anxiety according to the Spielberger scale, depression according to the Beck questionnaire, the quality of sleep according to the questionnaire of the Federal Somnological Centre. The type of adaptive reactions was determined in the leukocyte blood count by the percentage of lymphocytes and segmented neutrophils, taking into account the representation of other blood cells.

Results. Emotional and insomnia disorders predominated among women with CCI. Female patients were characterized by higher levels of excitation, tension and anxiety compared to men. Male patients were superior to women in terms of emotional balance. According to the analysis of leukograms, unfavorable adaptive reactions (overactivation and chronic stress) were significantly more frequent in women and correlated with a high level of anxiety and depression. The findings may have implications for the individualization of therapeutic interventions.

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