A questionnaire-wide association study of personality and mortality: The Vietnam Experience Study

AbstractObjective mined the association between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and all-cause mortality in 4462 middle-aged Vietnam-era veterans. s it the study population into half-samples. In each half, we used proportional hazards (Cox) regression to test the 550 MMPI itemsʹ associations with mortality over 15 years. 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). s -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 Affectivityʹs 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. sions c Complaints and Personal Disturbance are associated with increased mortality risk. Other componentsʹ effects varied as a function of variables in the model.