A new US study has found people whose personalities ‘lean toward conscientiousness, extraversion, and positive affect are less likely to develop dementia’.
In addition, reduction in dementia risk ‘grows stronger with age for people with such personalities’. Conversely, people whose personalities ‘are more characterised by neuroticism and negative affect are significantly more likely to develop dementia eventually’.
While the meta-study by researchers at the University of California found the ‘associations between personality type and dementia to be strong’, autopsies of study participants ‘did not find any suggestion of a link between personality and pathology’ (suggesting some other connection).
The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, specifically investigated possible associations between psychology’s Big Five personality traits and eventual dementia.
The ‘Big Five’ personality traits are: Openness (a personality that welcomes new experiences); Conscientiousness (a personality characterised by a motivated, perfectionist work ethic); Extraversion (a sociable, outgoing personality); Agreeableness (a personality that prioritises getting along with others; Neuroticism (a personality that is insecure and often overly emotional).
In the meta-study, researchers examined 2 traits not explicitly part of the Big Five: ‘positive affect’ (most closely associated with extraversion, though it can also be an element in other personality types) and ‘negative affect’ (similar, although most closely tied to neuroticism).
The study analysed data from 8 published studies involving 44,531 individuals: each was measured for personality type(s) and all underwent brain pathology examination after death during autopsies.
Lead author Dr Emorie Beck told medicalnewstoday.com: ‘We wanted to take a step back and see if we ask a basic question – ‘Does your personality now predict later dementia risk and neuropathological burden?’ – using as much data as we could possibly get our hands on.’
She explained: ‘We found a person’s personality traits are not related to whether (or not) they develop the physical pathology characteristic of Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (ADRD), but that it is related to those clinical manifestations and diagnostic risk.
‘This is good news. Even if we can’t necessarily prevent the disease itself, we can possibly mitigate the clinical signs of disease and reduce our odds of cognitive impairment.’
Dr David Merrill, director of California’s Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Pacific Brain Health Center (not involved in the study) suggested people with high conscientiousness, extraversion and a positive affect are ‘well-suited to adopt what we’ve come to know as common-sense measures for healthy ageing. These include regular exercise, healthy diet, good sleep, low stress, social and cognitively stimulating activities.
‘There may be a cumulative benefit of conscientious living over time – by supporting healthy behaviours, but also in avoiding potentially harmful habits or events like drinking to excess or having a head injury from thrill-seeking activities.’
