Personality Traits Predict the Onset of Disease

Abstract

While personality traits have been linked concurrently to health status and prospectively to outcomes such as mortality, it is currently unknown whether traits predict the diagnosis of a number of specific diseases (e.g., lung disease, heart disease, and stroke) that may account for their mortality effects more generally. A sample (N ¼ 6,904) of participants from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of older adults, completed personality measures and reported on current health conditions. Four years later, participants were followed up to see if they developed a new disease. Initial cross-sectional analyses replicated past findings that personality traits differ across disease groups. Longitudinal logistic regression analyses predicting new disease diagnosis suggest that traits are associated with the risk of developing disease—most notably the traits of conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Findings are discussed as a means to identify pathways between personality and health.

Why we asked

Personality traits have been linked to health status and to mortality. What was unknown was whether traits predict specific diagnoses, such as lung disease, heart disease, and stroke, that could account for the mortality findings.

What we did

We used the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of older adults. In a sample of 6,904 participants, we measured personality and current health conditions, then followed up four years later to see who had developed a new disease.

What we found

Cross-sectional analyses replicated earlier work: people with different diseases differed in their personality traits. The longitudinal analyses went a step further. Traits were associated with the risk of developing disease, most notably conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. In other words, personality measured at one point was associated with who received a new diagnosis four years later.

What it means

These traits may help identify the pathways that link personality to health. We discuss the findings as a starting point for that work.

This summary is based on the published abstract.