Personality, disease and mortality among PVC workers: a longitudinal study

In 1967, an investigation was initiated based on a study including personality and health. A cohort of 101 workers in a Swedish PVC production plant has been studied on two occasions within a time span of twenty years. The focus of this report is on the relation between personality and (1) disease symptoms from the endocrine and the vegetative systems and (2) the mortality pattern in this group. Swedish research on mortality has reported a pattern of relatively high frequencies of deaths in heart diseases, different forms of cancer, accidents and suicide among workers in PVC production plants. A medical health inventory (MFS scale) and a personality inventory based on Sjöbringʹs model (MNT scale) were completed on both occasions. One of the personality factors, measured by the MNT scale, the so called Validity factor (amount of available energy), turned out to be of particular importance. The similarities between Sjöbringʹs and Eysenckʹs personality dimensions and the fact that Validity is highly negatively correlated with the Eysenck N-factor are noted. Significant relations between the Validity factor and amount of vegetative and endocrine symptoms as well as mortality pattern were found.