Conscientiousness Associated with Brain Health; Possible buffer against Alzheimer's

The association between the level of (or changes in) one's conscientiousness and physical health is well established and its effect on longevity is not trivial. Brent Roberts of the University of Illinois observed that being a responsible person is as powerful as cardiovascular disease in determining how long we live.

More recently comes news associating conscientiousness with a lowered incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Robert Wilson, Ph.D., a professor of neuropsychology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has published his new findings in the October Archives of General Psychiatry.

The findings are based on a study where approximately 1000 Catholic nuns and priests were rated on their self-reported levels of conscientiousness. They were then tracked for 12 years:

Alzheimer's risk decreased by more than 5 percent for each additional point they obtained on the conscientiousness yardstick. Thus, those subjects who had conscientiousness scores in the 90th percentile (40 points) or higher at the start of the study, had an 89 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's than did those whose scores had ranked in the 10th percentile (28 points) or lower at the start of the study.

Dr. Wilson notes that reason why conscientiousness protects against Alzheimer's is not clear and will be the focus of future studies. It might have something to do with better coping for life events. Whatever it turns out to be it may lead to developments in delaying the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

h/t: Truemors