Abstract
BackgroundDuring adulthood, personality characteristics may contribute to the individual capacity to compensate the impact of developing cerebral Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology on cognitive impairment in later life. In this study we aimed to investigate whether and how premorbid personality traits interact with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers of AD pathology to predict cognitive performance in subjects with mild cognitive impairment or mild AD dementia and in participants with normal cognition.MethodsOne hundred and ten subjects, of whom 66 were patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild AD dementia and 44 were healthy controls, had a comprehensive medical and neuropsychological examination as well as lumbar puncture to measure CSF biomarkers of AD pathology (amyloid beta1–42, phosphorylated tau and total-tau). Participants’ proxies completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, Form R to retrospectively assess subjects’ premorbid personality.ResultsIn hierarchical multivariate regression analyses, including age, gender, education, APOEε4 status and cognitive level, premorbid neuroticism, conscientiousness and agreeableness modulated the effect of CSF biomarkers on cognitive performance. Low premorbid openness independently predicted lower levels of cognitive functioning after controlling for biomarker concentrations.ConclusionOur findings suggest that specific premorbid personality traits are associated with cerebral AD pathology and modulate its impact on cognitive performance. Considering personality characteristics may help to appraise a person’s cognitive reserve and the risk of cognitive decline in later life.
Highlights
During adulthood, personality characteristics may contribute to the individual capacity to compensate the impact of developing cerebral Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology on cognitive impairment in later life
Mildly demented AD patients show decreased Aβ1–42 levels and elevated tau protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) [5, 6]. Studies show that these neuropathological changes precede the symptoms of clinical dementia by years [7, 8], and tau, phosphorylated tau and Aβ1–42 in CSF can be considered a valuable detector of AD at a very early stage
Premorbid personality traits in domains of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness did not differ between the two experimental groups (t(87.41) = 0.96, p = 0.33; t(107.61) = 1.58, p = 0.21; t(101.16) = 0.09, p = 0.76; and t(90.06) = 1.19, p = 0.28 respectively)
Summary
Personality characteristics may contribute to the individual capacity to compensate the impact of developing cerebral Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology on cognitive impairment in later life. Mildly demented AD patients show decreased Aβ1–42 levels and elevated tau protein levels in CSF [5, 6] Studies show that these neuropathological changes precede the symptoms of clinical dementia by years [7, 8], and tau, phosphorylated tau (ptau) and Aβ1–42 in CSF can be considered a valuable detector of AD at a very early stage. Because personality influences lifestyle patterns such as health habits, cognitive activity and social relationships [12, 13], and these factors in turn are related to the risk of developing dementia in later life [14,15,16], personality characteristics may represent important determinants of dementia risk
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