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ATLANTA – Some personality traits may be a key factor in whether people develop mild cognitive impairment later in life, according to a new study. Being more conscientious and extroverted keeps mild cognitive impairment away for longer, while higher levels of neuroticism increase the chances of cognitive decline, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “Personality traits reflect relatively persistent patterns of thinking and behavior, which can cumulatively affect engaging in healthy and unhealthy behaviors and thought patterns throughout life,” said lead author Tomiko Yoneda, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at the University. Victoria in Canada. statement. “The accumulation of life experiences can then contribute to susceptibility to certain diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, or to individual differences in the ability to withstand age-related neurological changes,” he said. While this correlation is evident in clinical practice, it is difficult to know what “chicken or egg” is, said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of Alzheimer’s Clinical Prevention at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Florida Schmidt Medical College. “Certain characteristics may increase the risk of life-threatening behaviors that predispose a person to developing cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease, or there may be a more direct biological role associated with early disease pathology,” said Isaacson, who did not participate in the study. Neuroticism in particular is a trait that comes to mind, and previous meta-analyzes have also shown this. Ruminants and anxiety are associated with smaller brain tumors.
– Dr. Richard Isaacson, Schmidt College of Medicine, University of Florida Atlantic
“Neuroticism is a specific feature that comes to mind, and previous meta-analyzes have shown it as well. Ruminants and anxiety are associated with smaller brain tumors,” he said in an email. “It’s not clear if the path of stress / inflammation leads to this. There is no real biomarker to it, so it is difficult to prove.”
Basic personality traits
The study analyzed the personalities of nearly 2,000 people involved in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a timeless study of older adults in the Chicago area that began in 1997. The study looked at the role of three key personality traits – conscientiousness, extroversion and neuroticism – in how people coped with cognitive impairment in later life. Neuroticism is a personality trait that affects how well a person copes with stress. Neurotic people approach life in a state of anxiety, anger and self-awareness and often see small frustrations as hopelessly overwhelming or threatening. Conscientious people tend to have high levels of self-discipline and are organized and focused, Yoneda said, while extroverts are enthusiastic about life and often assertive and extroverted. People with a high conscientiousness score or a low neuroticism score were significantly less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment during the study, Yoneda said. Every extra six points a person scored on a conscience scale “was associated with a 22% reduced risk of transitioning from normal cognitive function to mild cognitive impairment,” Yoneda said. That could translate into a highly conscientious 80-year-old living two extra years without cognitive problems compared to those with low conscientiousness scores, the study said. Being more extroverted and socially committed seemed to offer an extra time to live without dementia, the study said. It also enhanced an individual’s ability to regain normal cognitive function after a previous diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, perhaps due to the benefits of socialization. However, as neuroticism levels increased, so did the risk of cognitive decline: Every additional seven points on the scale was “associated with a 12% increased risk,” said Yoneda, which could translate into a loss of at least one year of healthy cognitive function. This study is not the first to show a link between personality and brain function. Previous research has shown that people who are more open to experiences, more conscientious and less neurotic perform better cognitively on tests and experience less cognitive impairment over time. ×
