Personality Traits and the Risk of Osteoporosis in 3 Longitudinal Samples

Osteoporosis is a prevalent age-related condition with significant individual and economic costs. Identifying factors implicated in the risk of osteoporosis is thus critical to designing effective preventive actions and interventions. This study examined the cross-sectional and prospective associations between the 5 major personality traits and the risk of osteoporosis.

Participants were older adults aged 50 to 104 years ( N >20,000) from the Health and Retirement Study, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Baseline measures of personality traits, demographic, clinical, and behavioral factors were obtained in the 3 samples. Data on osteoporosis diagnosis were reported at baseline and up to 10 years later.

Random effect meta-analyses indicated that higher neuroticism was related to a higher risk of concurrent [odds ratios (OR)= 1.16, 95% CI: 1.11-1.21] and incident [hazard ratios (HR)= 1.18, 95% CI: 1.13-1.24] osteoporosis, whereas higher extraversion and higher conscientiousness were associated with a lower risk of concurrent (OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.97 and OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.98, respectively) and incident (HR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-1.00 and HR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.84-0.98, respectively) osteoporosis. Openness and agreeableness were unrelated to osteoporosis. Chronic conditions, BMI, physical activity, and smoking partly explained these associations. There was little replicable evidence for moderation by age and sex.

Consistent with other chronic conditions, this multicohort study provides novel evidence that higher neuroticism is a vulnerability factor for osteoporosis, whereas extraversion and conscientiousness are protective.