A recent study has linked personality traits with overall dementia risk. The effort could help researchers more broadly understand whether certain kinds of people are more likely to develop the disease over time.
Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the study found that conscientiousness, extraversion and positive affect were associated with a lower risk of dementia, while those with negative affect and neuroticism, the study found, could have a higher risk.
The results of the study were published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. THe study was conducted by Northwestern University researchers and the University of California Davis that analyzed data from eight longitudinal studies and over 44,500 participants. Out of those participants, 1,703 developed dementia and 50% of participants were subject to an autopsy following end of life.
According to an article published by NIA, the researchers “harmonized the data” and tested personality traits and reports of well-being that “predicted neuropsychological and neuropathological characteristics of dementia.”
Results from the study appear to show that certain personality traits could be warnings for dementia, including: Neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and negative affect while those who reported exhibiting conscientiousness, extraversion, and positive affect were less likely to develop dementia risk.
But, according to the article, a limitation of the study was the lack of non-representative participant data by race and researchers said more work was needed to connections using biomarkers of dementia and a broader, more diverse sample set.
