Personality, Cortisol, and Cognition in Non-demented Elderly Subjects: Results from a Population-Based Study

Abstract

Certain personality traits, in particular higher neuroticism, have been associated, on one hand, with elevated cortisol levels, and on the other hand, with poorer cognitive performance. At the same time, several studies highlighted the association between high cortisol and poor cognitive functioning. Here, we hypothesized that increased cortisol may be associated with poorer cognition and with certain personality traits (mainly high neuroticism), and that personality might explain the association between cortisol and cognition. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from Colaus/PsyColaus, a population-based study involving residents of Lausanne, Switzerland. Salivary cortisol samples (upon waking, 30 min after waking, at 11 am and at 8 pm) along with cognitive and personality measures were obtained from 643 non-demented participants aged at least 65. Personality traits were assessed using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). We examined the links between the cortisol Area under the Curve (AUC), the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDRSOB) and the NEO-FFI scores. No association was found between personality traits and the CDRSOB or the MMSE score, controlling for age, sex, depression, education and BMI. However, the executive functioning domain z-score was negatively associated with agreeableness (p = 0.005; slope = -0.107 [-0.181; -0.033]) and openness (p = 0.029; slope = -0.081 [-0.154; -0.008]) after controlling for age, sex, depression, education and BMI. The CDRSOB score was positively associated with the cortisol AUC after controlling for age, sex, BMI, education and depression, (p = 0.003; slope = 0.686 [0.240; 1.333]). This association remained significant after controlling for personality traits and for the interaction between personality traits and the cortisol AUC (p = 0.006; slope = 0.792 [0.233; 1.352]. High agreeableness and openness might be associated with poorer executive performance in later life. Increased cortisol may be associated with both specific personality traits (high extraversion, low openness) and worse cognitive performance. Increased salivary cortisol does not mediate the relationship between personality traits and cognitive impairment.

Interrelationships Between Personality, Executive Function and Physical Activity

“…Williams et al (2010) examined personality and executive function in elderly individuals. The authors noted that executive function was positively associated with neuroticism and negatively associated with openness and agreeableness (Williams, Suchy, & Kraybill, 2010); other studies have also confirmed these inverse associations between openness and agreeableness with cognitive performance (Ouanes et al, 2017). Unlike these observations, the present study demonstrated some evidence of a positive association between executive function and the personality trait agreeableness.…”

Personality and Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis in Older Men and Women

“…Specifically, conscientiousness and agreeableness tend to increase in older ages, whereas neuroticism and openness tend to decrease, and some dimensions of extraversion tend to increase, whereas others decrease (Roberts et al, 2006). Despite this, to our knowledge, only three studies have analyzed the association between the diurnal cortisol pattern and personality in older people (Gerritsen et al, 2009;Puig-Perez et al, 2016;Ouanes et al, 2017). In a previous study, we analyzed the association between neuroticism and extraversion, measured with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised short form (EPQ-RS), and morning cortisol levels (Puig-Perez et al, 2016).…”

“…Gerritsen et al (2009) also assessed neuroticism with the abbreviated subscale of the Dutch Personality Questionnaire, and they observed that higher neuroticism was related to higher evening cortisol levels, but not to post-awakening cortisol or diurnal cortisol variability. Of these three studies, only Ouanes et al (2017) administered the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to measure the big five personality traits (i.e., neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness), and they reported that higher neuroticism was related to a lower CAR, whereas lower extraversion and higher openness were associated with increased diurnal mean cortisol levels (AUCg). Moreover, although it has been reported that sex is an important moderator in the relationship between personality and HPA axis functioning (DeSoto and Salinas, 2015), only Puig-Perez et al (2016) analyzed sex differences in the association between neuroticism and extraversion and morning cortisol levels, and they reported that higher neuroticism was related to a greater CAR only in women.…”

Diurnal Cortisol Slope Mediates the Association Between Affect and Memory Retrieval in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Path-Analytical Study

“…Recent studies have evaluated the mediating role of cortisol between personality traits and cognitive impairment (Ouanes et al, 2017) and between acute stressors and cognitive flexibility (Gabrys et al, 2019). Measurable features of the HPA axis activities include mean diurnal cortisol level in biofluids such as saliva, and the diurnal cortisol slope (Adam and Kumari, 2009).…”