Abstract
Background: This study aimed to examine associations of personality with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and physical activity (PA), PA with GAD, and PA mediates associations between personality and incident GAD.Methods: Participants aged ≥50 years completed the 60-item NEO-Five Factor Inventory questionnaire to assess personality and short-form International Physical Activity Questionnaire at baseline, and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview – Short Form to clinically assess GAD at baseline and 2, 4, and 6 years later. Participants who had GAD at baseline or reported having ever been told by a doctor that they had anxiety were excluded from analyses. Binary logistic regression quantified associations of the ‘Big Five’ personality traits with PA and incident GAD, and associations of PA with incident GAD (i.e., GAD at any point during follow-up). The ‘counterfactual approach’ identified potential mediating effects of PA in the associations between personality traits and incident GAD.Results: Participants (n = 4582; 53.7% female) were aged 64.38±8.88 years. Incidence of GAD was 2.95% (n = 135). Extraversion (OR=1.160, 95%CI=1.087–1.237), openness (1.113, 1.043–1.188), and conscientiousness (1.083, 1.015–1.155) were positively associated with physical activity. Neuroticism was positively (2.335, 1.945–2.803), and extraversion (0.700, 0.563–0.797), conscientiousness (0.826, 0.693–0.985), and PA (0.655, 0.451–0.952) were inversely, associated with the incident GAD. Approximately 8.7% of the effect of extraversion and 8.8% of the effect of conscientiousness on GAD was due to mediation by PA only.Limitations: PA was self-reportedConclusions: Personality screening may help to identify older adults at-risk of anxiety who would benefit from participation in physical activity interventions.
Highlights
People who express certain personality factors, like high neuroti cism or low conscientiousness and extraversion, may be more prone to experiencing affective disorders and poor mental health (Beard et al, 2007; Kotov et al, 2010)
It found that (1) extraversion, openness, and con scientiousness were positively associated with physical activity, (2) neuroticism was positively, and extraversion, conscientiousness, and physical activity were inversely, associated with the incident generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and (3) approximately 8.7% of the effect of extraversion and 8.8% of the effect of conscientiousness on GAD was due to mediation by physical activity only
These findings build on previous cross-sectional reports of associations between personality factors and GAD and provide initial evidence of these associations among older adults, expand the limited body of evidence of associations between personality factors and phy sical activity among older adults, expand previous reports of lower odds of incident GAD among older adults meeting recommended physical activity levels with more rigorous methods, and provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that physical activity partially mediates associations of extraversion and conscientiousness with incident GAD
Summary
People who express certain personality factors, like high neuroti cism or low conscientiousness and extraversion, may be more prone to experiencing affective disorders and poor mental health (Beard et al, 2007; Kotov et al, 2010). Evidence demonstrates cross-sectional associations of low extraversion and conscientiousness with GAD, even after adjusting for neuroticism (Kotov et al, 2010) and at low levels of neuroticism (NaragonGainey and Simms, 2017). One possible but understudied pathway by which personality traits influence the devel opment of GAD is through their relationships with physical activity. Improved understanding of the relationships between personality, physical activity, and the development of GAD could lead to improved early detection of at-risk individuals and the development of behavioral interventions designed to mitigate symptoms. This study aimed to examine associations of personality with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and physical activity (PA), PA with GAD, and PA mediates associations between personality and incident GAD
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