Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2023 May 11;78(5):913-924. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbad017.
Early-life disadvantage (ELD) relates to lower late-life cognition. However, personality factors, including having an internal locus of control (LOC) or a conscientious personality, relate to resilience and effective stress coping. We explore whether personality factors convey resilience against the negative effects of ELD on cognition, by gender, in Mexico.
Using the 2015 Mexican Health and Aging Study, we estimated expected cognition using multiple ELD markers to identify a subsample in the lowest quartile of expected cognition given ELD (n = 2,086). In this subsample, we estimated cross-sectional associations between personality and having above-median observed cognitive ability (n = 522) using logistic regression.
Among those in the lowest quartile of expected cognition, a more internal LOC (β = 0.32 [men] and β = 0.44 [women]) and conscientious personality (β = 0.39 [men] and β = 0.17 [women]) were significantly associated with having above-median cognitive ability in models adjusted for demographic confounders. Larger benefits of conscientiousness were observed for men than women. Associations between personality and having above-median cognitive ability remained statistically significant after further adjustment for health, stress, and cognitive stimulation variables, regardless of gender.
Personality factors may convey resilience among individuals who experienced ELD, potentially breaking the link between ELD and worse late-life cognition. Structural factors and gender roles may affect how much women benefit from personality factors.
早期生活劣势（ELD）与晚年认知能力较低有关。然而，人格因素，包括具有内部控制点（LOC）或尽责人格，与韧性和有效应对压力有关。我们探讨了人格因素是否通过性别在墨西哥抵御 ELD 对认知的负面影响，是否具有韧性。
使用 2015 年墨西哥健康与老龄化研究，我们使用多个 ELD 标志物来估计预期认知，以确定给定 ELD（n=2086）的认知最低四分位数的亚样本。在这个亚样本中，我们使用逻辑回归估计了人格与观察到的认知能力高于中位数之间的横断面关联（n=522）。
在预期认知最低四分位数的人群中，LOC 更内部（β=0.32[男性]和β=0.44[女性]）和尽责人格（β=0.39[男性]和β=0.17[女性]）与模型中调整了人口统计学混杂因素后，认知能力高于中位数显著相关。尽责人格对男性的影响大于女性。无论性别如何，进一步调整健康、压力和认知刺激变量后，人格与认知能力高于中位数之间的关联仍然具有统计学意义。
人格因素可能在经历 ELD 的个体中具有韧性，从而可能打破 ELD 与晚年认知能力下降之间的联系。结构因素和性别角色可能会影响女性从人格因素中受益的程度。
