Personality traits at age 16 and risk of metabolic syndrome at age 46

Prevalence and risk factors associated with circadian syndrome in community-dwelling middle-aged to older adults: Based on health ecology model

OBJECTIVES

To explore the prevalence and risk factors associated with circadian syndrome (CricS) in community-dwelling middle-aged to older adults.

METHOD

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 13,516 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). We used logistic regression to compute the odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (Cls), using covariates derived through the health ecology model.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of CricS was 31.5 % (25.0 % males and 37.1 % females). With controlling all covariates, social isolation (OR 1.164, 95%CI 1.033-1.310), irritable mood (OR 1.689, 95%CI 1.488-1.917), fear responses (OR 1.546, 95%CI 1.262-1.894), chronic disease (OR 1.577, 95%CI 1.392-1.788), and financial debt (OR 0.806, 95%CI 0.657-0.990) were significantly correlated with increased CricS risk in males, whereas CricS syndrome was significantly associated with age (OR 1.285, 95%CI 1.214-1.361), married (OR 1.258, 95%CI 1.089-1.452), current drinkers (OR 0.835, 95%CI 0.716-0.974), social isolation (OR 1.175, 95%CI 1.065-1.296), irritable mood (OR 1.346, 95%CI 1.210-1.497), fear responses (OR 1.202, 95%CI 1.047-1.378), chronic disease (OR 1.363, 95%CI 1.225-1.517), chronic pain (OR 1.177, 95%CI 1.058-1.309), and universal basic income (OR 0.742, 95%CI 0.611-0.900) in females.

CONCLUSION

CricS is common in middle-aged to older adults, and health behavior factors have an important impact on CricS. The potential predictors identified for CricS should be further studied to prevent the occurrence of adverse health events in the presenium stage.

Correlations between personality traits, personality disorders, and immunometabolic markers

Evidence links immune system alterations to major psychiatric disorders. The few previous studies on personality traits or personality disorders (PDs) indicate that immunometabolic dysregulation may be prevalent in this population. This study aimed to investigate relationships between personality traits, PDs, and immunometabolic markers in peripheral blood. We hypothesized that neuroticism would be correlated with elevated leptin. Participants were recruited as young adults seeking care for general psychiatric disorders. They responded to a personality inventory and were assessed for PDs, and reevaluated again at a 12 years follow-up. Blood samples were collected at the follow-up and analyzed for 29 immunometabolic markers. A positive correlation was found between the personality trait neuroticism and leptin (ρ = 0.31, p = 0.02). An exploratory analysis also revealed a positive correlation between brain-derived neurotrophic factor (ρ = 0.36, p < 0.01) and neuroticism. These findings remained after adjusting for other variables in general linear models. There were no relationships between PDs and any immunometabolic markers. Results both confirm previous findings of correlations between the immunometabolic system and personality traits and suggest directions for future research.

Early Weight Status and Human Capital in Adulthood: A 32-Year Follow-Up of the 1970 British Cohort Study

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the effects of early weight status (childhood and adolescence) and changes in obesity status on human capital in adulthood. Methods: We employed data from the 1970 Birth Cohort Study in the United Kingdom. Data on height and weight during childhood and adolescence, human capital variables in adulthood were collected from 2,444 participants. Human capital includes cognitive ability, non-cognitive skill, educational attainment and health status. Data were analyzed through linear regression and logistic regression models. Results: Our results showed that obesity during adolescence was negatively associated with cognitive ability (β = -0.83, p < 0.01), educational attainment (β = -0.49, p < 0.01), and some health outcomes; and that underweight in childhood also adversely affected educational attainment in females (β = -0.66, p < 0.05). In terms of changes in obesity status, becoming obese in adolescence negatively affected cognitive ability (β = -1.18, p < 0.01), educational attainment (β = -0.62, p < 0.05) and some health outcomes, remaining obese was associated with all adverse health outcomes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that obesity during adolescence negatively affects a range of human capital outcomes in adulthood, and adolescence is a critical period during which early obesity affects adult human capital.

Neuroticism and white matter hyperintensities

Neuroticism is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This study investigates whether neuroticism is associated with white matter hyperintensities and whether this measure of brain integrity is a mediator between neuroticism and cognitive function. Middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank (N = 40,602; aged 45-82 years, M = 63.97, SD = 7.66) provided information on demographic and health covariates, completed measures of neuroticism and cognition, and underwent magnetic resonance imaging from which the volume of white matter hyperintensities was derived. Regression analyses that included age and sex as covariates found that participants who scored higher on neuroticism had more white matter hyperintensities (β = 0.024, 95% CI 0.015 to 0.032; p < .001), an association that was consistent across peri-ventricular and deep brain regions. The association was reduced by about 40% when accounting for vascular risk factors (smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, angina, and stroke). The association was not moderated by age, sex, college education, deprivation index, or APOE e4 genotype, and remained unchanged in sensitivity analyses that excluded individuals with dementia or those younger than 65. The mediation analysis revealed that white matter hyperintensities partly mediated the association between neuroticism and cognitive function. These findings identify white matter integrity as a potential neurobiological pathway that accounts for a small proportion of the association between neuroticism and cognitive health.

Metabolic Syndrome in Affective Disorders: Associations with Dark Triad Personality Traits

Previous research has focused on the relationship between affective disorders (AD) and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Aside from biological and lifestyle factors, personality traits were identified as influencing aspects. In particular, the Dark Triad personality traits (DT; Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) were connected to both AD and worse somatic health, thus possibly resulting in MetS. This observational study aimed to investigate the associations between DT and anthropometric parameters and differences in the DT traits concerning the presence of MetS in individuals with AD. A total of 112 individuals (females = 59, males = 51, diverse = 2, Mage = 47.5, SDage = 11.5) with AD filled out the Short Dark Triad questionnaire. Body Mass Index (BMI) and MetS criteria, including blood pressure, waist circumference, lipid, and glucose levels, were assessed. For Machiavellianism, a positive association with BMI (r = 0.29, p < 0.05) and a negative association with systolic blood pressure (r = -0.23, p < 0.05) were found. No relationship between the overall MetS and DT score (r = 0.08, p = 0.409) was observed. The results were limited by the lack of a control group and the cross-sectional study design, which does not allow for the determination of causality. Machiavellianism was associated with a higher BMI and lower systolic blood pressure, indicating a deteriorating health effect of this trait. Possibly, the higher prevalence of MetS in AD stems from aspects such as lifestyle or medication intake, which might also be influenced by DT. Further research is needed to disentangle underlying mechanisms.

The association between personality and plasma biomarkers of astrogliosis and neuronal injury

Personality traits have been associated with the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease neuropathology, including amyloid and tau. This study examines whether personality traits are concurrently related to plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of astrogliosis, and neurofilament light (NfL), a marker of neuronal injury. Cognitively unimpaired participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging (N = 786; age: 22-95) were assayed for plasma GFAP and NfL and completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, which measures 5 domains and 30 facets of personality. Neuroticism (particularly vulnerability to stress, anxiety, and depression) was associated with higher GFAP and NfL. Conscientiousness was associated with lower GFAP. Extraversion (particularly positive emotions, assertiveness, and activity) was related to lower GFAP and NfL. These associations were independent of demographic, behavioral, and health covariates and not moderated by age, sex, or apolipoprotein E genotype. The personality correlates of astrogliosis and neuronal injury tend to be similar, are found in individuals without cognitive impairment, and point to potential neurobiological underpinnings of the association between personality traits and neurodegenerative diseases.

The Mediating Role of Biomarkers in the Association Between Subjective Aging and Episodic Memory

OBJECTIVES

Subjective aging, indexed by subjective age and self-perceptions of aging (SPA), is consistently related to cognition in adulthood. The present study examined whether blood biomarkers mediate the longitudinal associations between subjective aging indices and memory.

METHODS

Data of 5,369 individuals aged 50-94 years (mean = 66.89 years, SD = 9.22; 60% women) were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Subjective age, SPA, and demographic factors were assessed in 2012/2014. Interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, albumin, cystatin C, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), fasting glucose, Vitamin D, hemoglobin, red cells distribution width, and epigenetic aging were assessed as part of the HRS Venuous Blood Study in 2016. Memory was measured in 2018. The mediators (except for epigenetic aging, which was assessed in a subsample) were tested simultaneously in models that accounted for demographic covariates.

RESULTS

An older subjective age was related to worse memory partially through higher fasting glucose, higher cystatin C, higher NT-proBNP, and accelerated epigenetic aging. Negative SPA was related to worse memory through lower Vitamin D3, higher fasting glucose, higher cystatin C, higher NT-proBNP, and accelerated epigenetic aging. The biomarkers explained between 2% and 10% of subjective age and between 1% and 8% of SPA associations with memory. Additional analysis revealed that biomarkers continued to be significant mediators when physical inactivity and depressive symptoms were included as additional mediators.

CONCLUSION

The present study adds to existing research on the association between subjective aging and memory by providing new evidence on the biological mediators of this association.