Driven people may avoid Alzheimer's

A surprising study of elderly people suggests that those who see themselves as self-disciplined, organized achievers have a lower risk for developing Alzheimer's disease than people who are less conscientious. A purposeful personality may somehow protect the brain, perhaps by increasing neural connections that can act as a reserve against mental decline. Astoundingly, the brains of some of the dutiful people in the study were examined after their deaths and were found to have lesions that would meet accepted criteria for Alzheimer's — even though these people had shown no signs of dementia.

"This adds to our knowledge that lifestyle, personality, how we think, feel and behave are very importantly tied up with risk for this terrible illness," researchers said. "It may suggest new ideas for trying to delay the onset of this illness." Previous studies have linked social connections and stimulating activities like working puzzles with a lower risk of Alzheimer's.

The new findings, appearing in Monday's Archives of General Psychiatry, come from an analysis of personality tests and medical exams of 997 older Catholic priests, nuns and brothers who participated in the Religious Orders Study. Those with the highest scores for a personality trait called "conscientiousness" at the start of the study had an 89 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's compared to people with the lowest scores for that personality trait. The conscientiousness scores were based on how people rated themselves, on a scale of 0 to 4, on how much they agreed with statements such as: "I work hard to accomplish my goals," "I strive for excellence in everything I do," "I keep my belongings clean and neat" and "I'm pretty good about pacing myself so as to get things done on time." When the researchers took into account a combination of risk factors, including smoking, inactivity and limited social connections, they still found that the dutiful people had a 54 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's compared to people with the lowest scores for conscientiousness. The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging.

Courtesy of AP

Steve - this is a fascinating example of how chronic disease is all-encompassing and cumulative. When you are addressing disease prevention, you must look at the whole person, which includes not just one's physical state, but emotional state, lifestyle, stress level, family and genetic history, etc.

Additionally, you must take stock in quality of life. At the start of '07 we urged all of our clients and visitors to take stock in their quality of life and to seek ways to improve. To review, read our January newsletter entitled, Is Your Quality of Life What it Should Be?