A questionnaire-wide association study of personality and mortality: The Vietnam Experience Study
A questionnaire-wide association study of personality and mortality: The Vietnam Experience Study
OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and all-cause mortality in 4462 middle-aged Vietnam-era veterans.
METHODS: We split the study population into half-samples. In each half, we used proportional hazards (Cox) regression to test the 550 MMPI items' associations with mortality over 15years. In all participants, we subjected significant (p<.01) items in both halves to principal-components analysis (PCA). We used Cox regression to test whether these components predicted mortality when controlling for other predictors (demographics, cognitive ability, health behaviors, and mental/physical health).
RESULTS: Eighty-nine items were associated with mortality in both half-samples. PCA revealed Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity, Somatic Complaints, Psychotic/Paranoia, and Antisocial components, and a higher-order component, Personal Disturbance. Individually, Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity (HR=1.55; 95% CI=1.39, 1.72), Somatic Complaints (HR=1.66; 95% CI=1.52, 1.80), Psychotic/Paranoid (HR=1.44; 95% CI=1.32, 1.57), Antisocial (HR=1.79; 95% CI=1.59, 2.01), and Personal Disturbance (HR=1.74; 95% CI=1.58, 1.91) were associated with risk. Including covariates attenuated these associations (28.4 to 54.5%), though they were still significant. After entering Personal Disturbance into models with each component, Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity and Somatic Complaints were significant, although Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity's were now protective (HR=0.73; 95% CI=0.58, 0.92). When the four components were entered together with or without covariates, Somatic Complaints and Antisocial were significant risk factors.
CONCLUSIONS: Somatic Complaints and Personal Disturbance are associated with increased mortality risk. Other components' effects varied as a function of variables in the model.
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory, mortality, negative affect, personality, Vietnam experience study, somatic complaints
523-529
Weiss, Alexander
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Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Batty, G. David
605ce199-493d-4238-b9c8-a2c076672e83
Deary, Ian J.
027158ae-fbfb-40ea-98b1-32d2690499ac
June 2013
Weiss, Alexander
c6f42bcd-c721-4862-9d31-7ee4598aa4d7
Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Batty, G. David
605ce199-493d-4238-b9c8-a2c076672e83
Deary, Ian J.
027158ae-fbfb-40ea-98b1-32d2690499ac
Weiss, Alexander, Gale, Catharine R., Batty, G. David and Deary, Ian J.
(2013)
A questionnaire-wide association study of personality and mortality: The Vietnam Experience Study.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 74 (6), .
(doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.02.010).
(PMID:23731751)
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and all-cause mortality in 4462 middle-aged Vietnam-era veterans.
METHODS: We split the study population into half-samples. In each half, we used proportional hazards (Cox) regression to test the 550 MMPI items' associations with mortality over 15years. In all participants, we subjected significant (p<.01) items in both halves to principal-components analysis (PCA). We used Cox regression to test whether these components predicted mortality when controlling for other predictors (demographics, cognitive ability, health behaviors, and mental/physical health).
RESULTS: Eighty-nine items were associated with mortality in both half-samples. PCA revealed Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity, Somatic Complaints, Psychotic/Paranoia, and Antisocial components, and a higher-order component, Personal Disturbance. Individually, Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity (HR=1.55; 95% CI=1.39, 1.72), Somatic Complaints (HR=1.66; 95% CI=1.52, 1.80), Psychotic/Paranoid (HR=1.44; 95% CI=1.32, 1.57), Antisocial (HR=1.79; 95% CI=1.59, 2.01), and Personal Disturbance (HR=1.74; 95% CI=1.58, 1.91) were associated with risk. Including covariates attenuated these associations (28.4 to 54.5%), though they were still significant. After entering Personal Disturbance into models with each component, Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity and Somatic Complaints were significant, although Neuroticism/Negative Affectivity's were now protective (HR=0.73; 95% CI=0.58, 0.92). When the four components were entered together with or without covariates, Somatic Complaints and Antisocial were significant risk factors.
CONCLUSIONS: Somatic Complaints and Personal Disturbance are associated with increased mortality risk. Other components' effects varied as a function of variables in the model.
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submitted weiss qwas final 25 feb 2013.docx
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table s1 item-level analysis.docx
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table s2 promax factor structure.docx
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table s3 bivariate with only age and ethnicity.docx
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table s4 bivariate with all covariates for PC1.docx
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table s5 bivariate with all covariates for PC2.docx
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table s6 bivariate with all covariates for PC3.docx
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table s7 bivariate with all covariates for PC4.docx
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table s8 bivariate with all covariates for HO_PC.docx
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table s9 bivariate with all covariates and HO PC.docx
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table s10 bivariate with all covariates and HO PC2.docx
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table s11 bivariate with all covariates and HO PC3.docx
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table s12 bivariate with all covariates and HO PC4.docx
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table s13 all four components age and ethnicity.docx
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table s14 all four components with all covariates.docx
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qwas_plot_25_feb_2013.tif
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Published date: June 2013
Keywords:
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory, mortality, negative affect, personality, Vietnam experience study, somatic complaints
Organisations:
Faculty of Medicine
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Local EPrints ID: 355693
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/355693
ISSN: 0022-3999
PURE UUID: 4e193906-e6d2-400a-bb41-d3f930418c3d
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Date deposited: 03 Sep 2013 15:05
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:49
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Author:
Alexander Weiss
Author:
G. David Batty
Author:
Ian J. Deary
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