The Impact of Personality on Dementia Risk: Findings from a Comprehensive Analysis

Thursday - January 18 2024, 08:10 UTC - 10 months ago

A comprehensive analysis has found that individuals with certain personality traits, such as conscientiousness and extraversion, are less likely to develop dementia compared to those with neuroticism and negative affect. The study suggests that interventions targeting these traits may help reduce the risk of dementia later in life.

A new analysis by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Northwestern University has found that individuals with certain personality traits are less likely to develop dementia compared to those with other traits. The study, recently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, aims to shed light on the potential role of personality in dementia risk and the potential for targeting personality traits in interventions to reduce dementia risk.

The study analyzed data from eight previous studies with a combined total of over 44,000 participants, of whom 1,703 were diagnosed with dementia. The researchers specifically looked at the “big five” personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, neuroticism, and agreeableness) as well as subjective well-being (positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction) in relation to clinical symptoms of dementia and neuropathology at autopsy.

Lead author and assistant professor of psychology at UC Davis, Emorie Beck, notes that while there have been previous studies exploring the link between personality traits and dementia, they were often limited in scope and focused on specific populations. This study, therefore, aimed to synthesize existing research and assess the strength and consistency of these associations. If the links between personality traits and dementia hold up in future studies, Beck suggests that targeting these traits for change through interventions earlier in life may be a promising approach to reducing the risk for dementia in the long term.

The results of the analysis revealed that individuals with high scores on negative traits such as neuroticism and negative affect, as well as low scores on positive traits like conscientiousness, extraversion, and positive affect, were at a higher risk for dementia. Interestingly, high scores on openness to experience, agreeableness, and life satisfaction were found to have a protective effect in some studies.

One surprising finding, however, was the lack of a link between these personality traits and neuropathology in the brains of those who had passed away. Beck suggests that this may be due to the potential for certain traits to make individuals more resilient to the effects of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Even with significant damage to brain tissue, some individuals may still be able to effectively cope with and work around cognitive impairments.

The study also explored other potential moderators of the relationship between personality traits and dementia risk, including age, sex, education, and study duration. However, none of these factors significantly impacted the results.

Based on these findings, the researchers propose that interventions targeting personality traits may hold promise for reducing the risk of dementia in later life. However, further research is needed to better understand the specific mechanisms connecting personality traits to dementia risk.