Certain personality traits can play a decisive role in the occurrence of an impairment of one or more cognitive functions at an advanced age, according to an international study.
- Neuroticism is a personality trait that affects how a person handles stress. Neurotic people approach life with a state of anxiety and anger. They often view minor frustrations as hopelessly overwhelming or threatening.
“Research suggests that character traits are associated with mild cognitive impairment, dementia and mortality risk, but when traits are most important in progression to dementia and the extent to which they are associated years of cognitive health are not well understood”, said an international team of researchers. In order to see things more clearly, the group decided to carry out a study published in the journal Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
For the purposes of their work, the scientists analyzed the personalities of 1,954 adults aged around 80, who took part in the “Rush Memory and Aging Project”, a study carried out among elderly people in Chicago (United States) who began in 1997. The authors examined the role of three character traits, namely conscientiousness, extraversion and neuroticism, on how people resist cognitive decline in old age.
The role of personality traits in the onset of cognitive decline
“A higher level of conscientiousness was associated with a decreased risk of progressing from no cognitive impairment to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and a higher level of neuroticism was associated with an increased risk of developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. -Jacob”, the study found. According to the results, being more conscientious and extroverted makes it possible to avoid cognitive decline longer. This was particularly observed in women.
“Personality traits reflect relatively enduring patterns of thought and behavior. (…) The accumulation of experiences throughout life may contribute to susceptibility to particular diseases or disorders, such as cognitive impairment , or contribute to individual differences in the ability to resist age-related neurological changes”, said Tomiko Yoneda, lead author of the work.
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