Personality change before and after diagnosis of chronic respiratory diseases

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) can impact functioning and multiple physical and mental health outcomes, but their impact on psychological traits is less understood. This study investigated personality trajectories before and after the diagnosis of CRD.

Data were from the Health and Retirement Study. Personality and chronic respiratory conditions were assessed between 2006 and 2020 (N = 17,078, n = 1,044 with CRD, 40,971 personality assessments). Multilevel models evaluated personality changes before and after CRD diagnosis, accounting for sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral factors and normative age-related trajectories.

Before the diagnosis of CRD, small effects were detected for declines in extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (effect sizes ranging from -0.10 for conscientiousness to -0.16 for openness, in standard deviations per decade). After the diagnosis of the disease, there was a steeper increase in neuroticism and steeper declines in extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness compared to participants who never developed a chronic respiratory disease during the follow-up (effect sizes ranging from -0.29 for conscientiousness to 0.24 for neuroticism, in standard deviations per decade).

CRD are associated with maladaptive personality changes, mainly following diagnosis. These findings highlight the importance of developing interventions to counter maladaptive personality trajectories in people with chronic respiratory conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).