The potential protective benefit of personality on subjective cognitive decline related worry: Results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSubjective cognitive decline (SCD), a self‐reported decline in cognition, may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, SCD‐related worry has been implicated in predicting the progression from SCD to further cognitive decline. Certain personality traits have been linked to cognitive health (i.e., conscientiousness, emotional‐stability, and openness to experience), but little is known about the association between personality traits and worry related to perceived cognitive decline.MethodAnalyzing data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), a large national study of participants aged 45‐85 at baseline, we sought to identify prospective psychosocial correlates of SCD‐related worry. At baseline, known correlates of cognition (e.g., depression) were measured, as well as the primary predictor of interest, personality traits, which were measured using the Ten‐Item Personality Inventory (TIPI). SCD and SCD‐related worry were measured three years later. Participants who positively endorsed SCD at follow‐up were asked a single‐item assessing their worry about their self‐reported memory decline. Response options ranged from disagree to agree. Multiple imputation using chained equations (MICE) was conducted to account for missing data. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds of reporting greater SCD‐related worry (n = 27,745).ResultMany psychosocial measures were associated with greater SCD‐related worry, for example, being a woman (OR = 1.35, CI: 1.25‐1.45), being younger (OR = 0.99, CI: 0.97‐0.99), and elevated depression symptoms (OR = 1.44, CI: 1.32‐1.58). With respect to personality traits, higher levels of certain traits were associated with reduced odds of SCD‐related worry: extraversion (OR = 0.96, CI: 0.95‐0.98), conscientiousness (OR = 0.95, CI: 0.92‐0.97), and emotional stability (OR = 0.86, CI: 0.84‐0.88). Openness to experience (OR = 1.01, CI: 0.99‐1.03), and agreeableness (OR = 1.00, CI: 0.97‐1.03), were not associated with SCD‐related worry.ConclusionHigher levels of extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were associated with higher worry regarding perceived decline in cognitive functioning. This information may help identify individuals at a greater risk of future cognitive impairment and dementia.