Personality factors in intermittent claudication related to the outcome of self-care program.

The relationship between personality factors in intermittent claudication and the patient's compliance with the therapeutic regimen was studied. Fifty-three patients with intermittent claudication were clinically examined, interviewed and tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Test, the Rorschach Test and the Ceasarec-Marke Inventory. The patients were given self-care program with four recommendations. After half a year, the clinical examinations and interviews were repeated. The results showed that the compliance with self-care program was relatively poor. Hostility, aggressiveness and affect-lability were obstacles to compliance. Obsessive-compulsive and dependent patients as well as those with strong guilt feelings followed the regimen best.