Can We Predict Dementia by Personality as a Teenager?

Investigators assessed personality traits in more than 80,000 individuals from a national sample of high school students in 1960 and found that adolescents who rated higher on the "vigor" scale were 7% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia 5 decades later.  Vigor was defined as having a more energetic disposition and more extroversion.  Calmness and maturity in teens also transferred a reduced risk of dementia.  

The interpretation highlights the importance of child mental health with specific reference to encouraging calming techniques and physical activity.  This study meshes well with other studies that have indicated relief from anxiety as well as healthy lifestyle habits have a dramatic positive impact on the prevention of mental illness. 

Chapman BP, Huang A, Peters K, et al. Association between high school personality phenotype and dementia 54 years later in results from a national US sample. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019. 

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2752387