Personality and all-cause mortality: individual-participant meta-analysis of 3,947 deaths in 76,150 adults

Abstract

Personality may influence the risk of death, but the evidence remains inconsistent. We examined associations between personality traits of the five-factor model (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) and the risk of death from all causes through individual-participant meta-analysis of 76,150 participants from 7 cohorts (the British Household Panel Survey, 2006-2009; the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, 2005-2010; the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, 2006-2010; the US Health and Retirement Study, 2006-2010; the Midlife in the United States Study, 1995-2004; and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study's graduate and sibling samples, 1993-2009). During 444,770 person-years at risk, 3,947 participants (54.4% women) died (mean age at baseline = 50.9 years; mean follow-up = 5.9 years). Only low conscientiousness-reflecting low persistence, poor self-control, and lack of long-term planning-was associated with elevated mortality risk when taking into account age, sex, ethnicity/nationality, and all 5 personality traits. Individuals in the lowest tertile of conscientiousness had a 1.4 times higher risk of death (hazard ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval: 1.18, 1.58) compared with individuals in the top 2 tertiles. This association remained after further adjustment for health behaviors, marital status, and education. In conclusion, of the higher-order personality traits measured by the five-factor model, only conscientiousness appears to be related to mortality risk across populations.

Keywords: meta-analysis; mortality; personality; psychology; survival analysis.

Figure 1.

Hazard ratios associated with a 1­–standard deviation increment in personality trait score for mutually adjusted personality traits, additionally adjusted for sex, age, and ethnicity/nationality. The overall estimates are based on random-effects meta-analysis. Squares represent study-specific estimates, and diamonds represent pooled estimates of random-effects meta-analyses. Bars, 95% confidence interval (CI). BHPS, British Household Panel Survey (United Kingdom, 2006–2009); GSOEP, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (Germany, 2005–2010); HILDA, Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (Australia, 2006–2010); HRS, Health and Retirement Study (United States, 2006–2010); MIDUS, Midlife in the United States Study (United States, 1995–2004); WLSG, Wisconsin Longitudinal Study's graduate sample (United States, 1993–2009); WLSS, Wisconsin Longitudinal Study's sibling sample (United States, 1994–2009).

Figure 2.

Associations between personality score quintiles and mortality risk based on random-effects meta-analysis of the 7 cohorts (representing 76,150 individuals and 3,947 deaths). For each trait, the lowest quintile is the reference category. Personality traits are mutually adjusted, and the model is further adjusted for sex, age, and ethnicity/nationality. Squares represent pooled estimates of random-effects meta-analyses for personality trait quintiles. Bars, 95% confidence interval (CI). Data were pooled from the British Household Panel Survey (United Kingdom, 2006–2009); the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (Germany, 2005–2010); Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (Australia, 2006–2010); the Health and Retirement Study (United States, 2006–2010); Midlife in the United States (United States, 1995–2004); the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study's graduate sample (United States, 1993–2009); and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study's sibling sample (United States, 1994–2009).