Genetic and environmental contributions to the associations between midlife personality and late‐life metabolic health
Authors' conclusion
These results are consistent with an etiology of declining metabolic health into old age involving the propensity toward negative affective experiences decades prior, further validating the health relevance of individual differences in personality.
Study context
- Population
- Minnesota Twin Registry sample; personality (Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire) in early-to-middle adulthood (mean age 38.3 years), metabolic health in older adulthood (mean age 70.4 years)
- Participants
- 950 twins
- Outcome
- BMI, waist circumference, HDL-C, C-reactive protein, TG and HbA1c in older adulthood
- Follow-up
- Mean age 70.4 years
Methodological detailstwin design, genetic and unique environmental correlation analysis
- Twin design
- Genetic and unique environmental correlation analysis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Associations of midlife personality traits with late-life metabolic outcomes
Midlife emotional instability traits (alienation, stress reactivity) were significant predictors of several late-life metabolic outcomes (bivariate |r|)
|r| ≤ 0.22
Unique environmental correlations of alienation and stress reactivity with BMI, waist circumference and C-reactive protein (weak-to-moderate)
re = 0.10-0.29
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Genetic and environmental contributions to the associations between midlife personality and late‐life metabolic health. Obesity (Silver Spring). Published 1 May 2025. doi:10.
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