Conscientious people are less prone to Alzheimer’s

Wilson and colleagues defined conscientiousness in the study as people who control their impulses and are goal-directed. These people are often considered dependable.

People in Wilson’s study did not have dementia when the study started in 1994.

The researchers asked the volunteers to rank themselves on a five-point scale according to a 12-item inventory, with questions such as “I am a productive person who always gets the job done.” From this, they derived a conscientiousness score, based on a scale of 0 to 48. The average score was 34.

They were also given various medical and neurological exams, including cognitive testing. Follow-up tests were done each year through 2006. A total of 176 people developed Alzheimer’s disease during the study.

People who were highly conscientious — those in the 90th percentile with scores of 40 or higher, had an 89 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who ranked in the 10th percentile, with a score of 28 or lower. The researchers also found that conscientiousness was linked with a slower rate of cognitive decline and a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment, a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

Why conscientious people are less prone to Alzheimer’s is not clear, but Wilson and colleagues suggested it may be because conscientious people tend to be more resilient.