The nature of your personality may protect you from dementia!!!

The nature of your personality may protect you from dementia!!!

A new study has discovered that some personality traits increase the risk of dementia, while others reduce it. Interestingly, no consistent association has been observed between personality and brain pathology associated with dementia. The findings suggest that targeting personality traits in interventions early in life may be a way to reduce the risk of dementia in the long term, according to New Atlas, citing the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.

Despite the accumulation of beta amyloid

There are many different diseases that underlie dementia, the most famous of which is Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. But there is a body of research that suggests a disconnect between the degree of pathology in a person's brain and the clinical manifestations of cognitive impairment. About a third of adults over the age of 75 have enough beta-amyloid and tau to meet criteria for Alzheimer's disease but do not have cognitive impairment.

The 5 personality traits

Numerous meta-analytic studies suggest that physical, social, and cognitive engagement contribute to healthy cognitive aging. These factors are captured in the “Big Five” personality traits: conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, neuroticism, and agreeableness. A new meta-analytic study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, examined the relationship between personality traits, subjective well-being, neuropathology, and dementia diagnosis.

“We wanted to take advantage of new technology to pool these studies and test the strength and consistency of these associations,” said Emory Beck, the study’s lead researcher.

The 3 aspects of personal well-being

The researchers analyzed data from eight published scientific studies covering two continents and four countries. In total, the studies included 44.531 participants, 1.703 of whom developed dementia. The researchers looked at measures of the Big Five personality traits and three aspects of subjective well-being: positive and negative affect and life satisfaction, compared to clinical symptoms of dementia based on cognitive tests and brain pathology.

Protective factors

The researchers discovered that conscientiousness, extraversion, and positive affect were protective factors against a dementia diagnosis, while neuroticism and negative affect were risk factors. High scores on openness to experience, agreeableness, and life satisfaction have also been shown to be protective factors in a smaller subset of studies.

Depression and inflammation

The reliable association between negative affect and dementia diagnosis was a novel finding. Negative affect is characterized by aversive moods such as anger, anxiety, disgust, guilt, and fear and is highly associated with neuroticism. Research suggests that negative affect is associated with neuroinflammation, especially for people with high levels of beta-amyloid, and that inflammation may predispose individuals to symptoms of depression, creating a two-way pathway between inflammation and psychological factors, that is, symptoms of depression are linked to inflammation, and inflammation may cause symptoms. Depression.

Surprisingly, the researchers found no consistent associations between personality traits and the neuropathology seen in post-mortem dementia brains.

Higher levels of flexibility

Researchers suggest that certain personality traits can make people more resilient to the cognitive impairment seen in dementia, and that those with higher levels of certain traits may be able to cope with and overcome this impairment. The findings suggest that targeting personality traits for intervention early in life may be a way to reduce the risk of dementia in the long term.

Neuropathy

The researchers plan to expand their study to include looking at people who have neurological disease but little cognitive impairment. They also hope to examine other everyday factors that may play a role in dementia.

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