P2‐324: Openness Personality Trait Predicts Delayed Verbal Recall at >1 Year Follow‐up in Cognitively Normal Older Adults Without Current or Lifetime History of Psychiatric Illness
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Prospective studies indicate an association between higher neuroticism and risk for developing dementia, but whether these findings are confounded by current or previous history of depression, a well-established risk factor for dementia, is unclear. Here we assessed the relationship between personality traits at baseline and memory at >1year in cognitively-normal older adults who were free of lifetime history of psychiatric conditions. Participants were 20 older adults [5M, mean age=72.8(SD6.9), mean years of education=16.6(SD2.6), mean Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)=26.7(SD1.9)] with normal cognition based on neuropsychological assessment, who were free of current or past history of psychiatric illness and independent in functional abilities. At baseline and >1-year follow-up, participants completed a neuropsychological battery, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) which assesses levels of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Pearson's r was used to examine associations between mood/personality measures at baseline and immediate recall (IR), short delayed recall (SDR) and long delayed recall (LDR) scores on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II) at follow-up. A Bonferroni adjustment was used to correct for multiple comparisons (adjusted p=.002). Mean interval between baseline and follow-up was 21 (SD5.1) months. Moderate correlations were found between baseline NEO-FFI openness scores and CVLT-II performance at follow-up (IR: r=.63, p=.003, SDR: r=.52, p=.02, LDR: r=.68, p=.001), with only the association between baseline NEO-FFI openness and LDR remaining significant at the adjusted p-threshold. No correlations were found between other baseline mood or personality measures and CVLT-II performance at follow-up. This pattern of results remained unchanged after controlling for follow-up interval, age, and MoCA. A linear regression model with age and NEO-FFI openness as explanatory variables accounted for 48% of the variance in LDR, with NEO-FFI emerging as a significant predictor (F (2,19)= 9.77, p=.001; NEO-FFI openness: standardized beta = .63, t=3.72, p=.002).
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2981230249