Premorbid personality traits in Alzheimer's disease: do they predispose to noncognitive behavioral symptoms?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether premorbid personality traits predispose to noncognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The Munich Personality Test was used to evaluate caregivers' perception of personality prior to symptom onset in 56 outpatients with probable AD. Caregivers also completed the "mood" and "disturbed behavior" scales of the Nurses' Observation Scale for Geriatric Patients. A neuropsychiatrist rated depressive symptoms on the Cornell Scale for Depression and the occurrence of personality change in four domains according to ICD-10. Under statistical control of confounding variables, results showed a moderate association between (high) premorbid neuroticism, subsequent troublesome behavior, and personality change, on the one hand, and (low) frustration tolerance and depression, on the other. Premorbid personality traits may indeed predispose to subsequent noncognitive symptoms in AD.