The association between personality traits and myocardial infarction- A European cross-sectional study

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a serious condition that increases with age. It is valuable to identify the reasons why some are affected, and possibly, why different personality traits can be associated with an increased or decreased risk for myocardial infarction.

This is a cross-sectional study based on wave 7 data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). A total of 52,231 individuals aged 50 years or older were included in the study. The Big Five personality traits constituted the main exposure variables and were analyzed separately. The value of each personality trait variable was standardized. The association between each personality trait and MI was examined by logistic regression models which were used to estimate the Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95 % Confidence Intervals (CIs).

A total of 6336 participants reported having a MI in this study. The odds of MI were higher in individuals with greater Neuroticism (OR: 1.15, 95 % CI: 1.12-1.18). Higher Conscientiousness was associated with decreased odds of MI (OR: 0.96, 95 % CI: 0.94-0.99). Higher Agreeableness was associated with lower odds of MI (OR: 0.96, 95 % CI: 0.94-0.99). There were no significant associations between Openness or Extraversion and the odds of MI, respectively.

Higher Neuroticism was associated with increased odds of MI. Higher Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were associated with decreased odds of MI, respectively. Our study is of interest for the prevention of MI.