Personality traits in treated Wilson's disease determined by means of the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP)

Objective. The aim was to elucidate the personality traits of patients with treated Wilson's disease (WD) in comparison to healthy volunteers. Method. Twenty-five WD patients, ten females and 15 males, with a mean age of 35.2 +/- 8.3 years completed the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), a sell -report inventory comprising 15 separate scales. The results were compared to a control series comprising 200 men and 200 women drawn from the general population. Results. The patients with treated WD scored significantly low er than the healthy controls on aggressivity-hostility-related scales and t he scale measuring Psychic Anxiety. Patients with predominantly hepatic sym ptoms had the lowest aggressivity-related scores and patients with predomin antly neurological symptoms had the lowest Irritability, Guilt and Detachme nt scores and the highest Impulsiveness and Muscular Tension scores. Both g roups scored low on the Somatic Anxiety scale. Conclusion. The present resu lts illustrate that patients with treated WD have significant deviations in personality traits, especially in aggressivity-hostility-related scales an d Psychic Anxiety, compared to healthy controls when investigated by means of a self-report inventory, the KSP. The deviations were not related to age , age at onset or duration of the disease. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.