The relationship between tourists' agreeableness and openness to experience with coronary heart disease mortality.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined relationships between tourists' agreeableness and openness to experience (AOE) and rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in an international context.

METHODS

AOE was obtained from the "Expedia Tourist Survey" (2002), which asked tourist office staff in 17 places around the world to nominate the two countries with the "best" and two with the "worst" tourists. AOE reflected tourists' behaviour, politeness, interest in other countries' language and foods, and spending money. Rates of CHD mortality were obtained for 22 of the countries, from published epidemiological studies.

RESULTS

Controlling for alcohol consumption and national health budget, countries with low AOE had higher rates of CHD mortality than countries with high AOE. This was found in both men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

AOE may be a risk factor of CHD mortality, a concept that is the antonym of hostility. If replicated with standardized AOE measures, these findings may have relevance to preventing CHD mortality.