Yaqing Gao, Najaf Amin, Cornelia van Duijn and Thomas Littlejohns dove into the relationship of neuroticism (i.e. a personality trait that describes a person with a general tendency towards negative emotions e.g. irritability, worry or self-consciousness) with incident dementia, neuroimaging outcomes and cognitive function. In their longitudinal study, the researchers used data from UK Biobank participants (n=174164) with a follow-up period of up to 15 years. The data used included neuroticism scores, genetic data, health and lifestyle information, neuroimaging outcomes, and cognitive function data. The research team’s findings suggest an association between neuroticism and dementia. Higher neuroticism was associated with an 11% increased risk of incident dementia, irrespective of the genetic predisposition to dementia. Furthermore, the researchers found that people who scored higher in neuroticism had a 15% higher risk of vascular dementia.
Neuroticism was associated with higher cerebrovascular pathology and lower grey matter volume, suggesting a potential physical manifestation of the personality trait within the brain. The association of neuroticism with all-cause dementia and vascular dementia was found to be mediated by mental and vascular conditions. Their findings highlight the complex interplay between personality traits, mental health, vascular health, and dementia and the need for further research. The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. To learn more about the paper, follow the link: Association of neuroticism with incident dementia, neuroimaging outcomes, and cognitive function - PubMed (nih.gov)
