TY - JOUR
T1 - Cholesterol, triglycerides, and the Five-Factor Model of personality
AU - Sutin, Angelina R.
AU - Terracciano, Antonio
AU - Deiana, Barbara
AU - Uda, Manuela
AU - Schlessinger, David
AU - Lakatta, Edward G.
AU - Costa, Paul T.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute on Aging . Paul Costa receives royalties from the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.
PY - 2010/5
Y1 - 2010/5
N2 - Unhealthy lipid levels are among the leading controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease. To identify the psychological factors associated with dyslipidemia, this study investigates the personality correlates of cholesterol (total, LDL, and HDL) and triglycerides. A community-based sample (N=5532) from Sardinia, Italy, had their cholesterol and triglyceride levels assessed and completed a comprehensive personality questionnaire, the NEO-PI-R. All analyses controlled for age, sex, BMI, smoking, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes. Low Conscientiousness and traits related to impulsivity were associated with lower HDL cholesterol and higher triglycerides. Compared to the lowest 10%, those who scored in top 10% on Impulsivity had a 2.5 times greater risk of exceeding the clinical threshold for elevated triglycerides (OR=2.51, CI=1.56-4.07). In addition, sex moderated the association between trait depression (a component of Neuroticism) and HDL cholesterol, such that trait depression was associated with lower levels of HDL cholesterol in women but not men. When considering the connection between personality and health, unhealthy lipid profiles may be one intermediate biomarker between personality and morbidity and mortality.
AB - Unhealthy lipid levels are among the leading controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease. To identify the psychological factors associated with dyslipidemia, this study investigates the personality correlates of cholesterol (total, LDL, and HDL) and triglycerides. A community-based sample (N=5532) from Sardinia, Italy, had their cholesterol and triglyceride levels assessed and completed a comprehensive personality questionnaire, the NEO-PI-R. All analyses controlled for age, sex, BMI, smoking, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes. Low Conscientiousness and traits related to impulsivity were associated with lower HDL cholesterol and higher triglycerides. Compared to the lowest 10%, those who scored in top 10% on Impulsivity had a 2.5 times greater risk of exceeding the clinical threshold for elevated triglycerides (OR=2.51, CI=1.56-4.07). In addition, sex moderated the association between trait depression (a component of Neuroticism) and HDL cholesterol, such that trait depression was associated with lower levels of HDL cholesterol in women but not men. When considering the connection between personality and health, unhealthy lipid profiles may be one intermediate biomarker between personality and morbidity and mortality.
KW - Cholesterol
KW - Depression
KW - Impulsivity
KW - Personality
KW - Triglycerides
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U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.01.012
DO - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.01.012
M3 - Article
C2 - 20109519
AN - SCOPUS:77953024288
SN - 0301-0511
VL - 84
SP - 186
EP - 191
JO - Biological Psychology
JF - Biological Psychology
IS - 2
ER -