Key result
Pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits were associated with increased all-cause mortality (65.5% overall mortality over four decades), with risk increasing linearly across quartiles.
Why the study?
Do pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits increase the risk of all-cause mortality in a general cohort?
Cohort (n=7,216)
No
Do pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits increase the risk of all-cause mortality in a general cohort?
Pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits measured early in life are associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality over four decades of follow-up.
Supports personality assessment in long-term risk models; leaves open whether interventions targeting traits improve survival.
Objective: To study the association between several personality traits and all-cause mortality. Methods: We established a historical cohort of 7216 subjects who completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for research at the Mayo Clinic from 1962 to 1965, and who resided within a 120-mile radius centered in Rochester, MN. A total of 7080 subjects (98.1%) were followed over four decades either actively (via a direct or proxy telephone interview) or passively (via review of medical records or by obtaining their death certificates). We examined the association of pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits (as measured using MMPI scales) with all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 4634 subjects (65.5%) died during follow-up. Pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits were associated with increased all-cause mortality in both men and women. In addition, we observed a linear trend of increasing risk from the first to the fourth quartile for all three scales. Results were similar in additional analyses considering the personality scores as continuous variables, in analyses combining the three personality traits into a composite neuroticism score, and in several sets of sensitivity analyses. These associations remained significant even when personality was measured early in life (ages 20–39 years). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that personality traits related to neuroticism are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality even when they are measured early in life. CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression; CI = confidence interval; EPI = Eysenck Personality Inventory; HADS = Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HR = hazard ratio; IQR = interquartile range; MMPI = Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; NEO-FFI = NEO Five-Factor Inventory; NEO-PI-R = Revised NEO Personality Inventory; SD = standard deviation.
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Grossardt et al. (2009) conducted a cohort in All-cause mortality (n=7,216). Pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits vs. Lower quartiles of personality traits was evaluated on All-cause mortality. Pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits were associated with increased all-cause mortality (65.5% overall mortality over four decades), with risk increasing linearly across quartiles.
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