High Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness are associated with interleukin-6
Open accessAbstract
Background: High Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness are frequently implicated in health-risk behaviors, such as smoking and overeating, as well as health outcomes, including mortality. Their associations with physiological markers of morbidity and mortality, such as inflammation, are less well documented. The present research examines the association between the five major dimensions of personality and interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine often elevated in patients with chronic morbidity and frailty. Method: A population-based sample (n=4923) from four towns in Sardinia, Italy, had their levels of IL-6 measured and completed a comprehensive personality questionnaire, the NEO-PI-R. Analyses controlled for factors known to have an effect on IL-6: age; sex; smoking; weight; aspirin use; disease burden. Results: High Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness were both associated with higher levels of IL-6. The findings remained significant after controlling for the relevant covariates. Similar results were found for C-reactive protein, a related marker of chronic inflammation. Further, smoking and weight partially mediated the association between impulsivity-related traits and higher IL-6 levels. Finally, logistic regressions revealed that participants either in the top 10% of the distribution of Neuroticism or the bottom 10% of conscientiousness had an approximately 40% greater risk of exceeding clinically relevant thresholds of IL-6. Conclusions: Consistent with the literature on personality and self-reported health, individuals high on Neuroticism or low on Conscientiousness show elevated levels of this inflammatory cytokine. Identifying critical medical biomarkers associated with personality may help to elucidate the physiological mechanisms responsible for the observed connections between personality traits and physical health.
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Neuroticism has been associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers in multiple studies, in addition to several null findings.
“In addition to several null findings (26-28), neuroticism has been associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers in multiple studies (29,30).”
From Socioeconomic Status Interacts with Conscientiousness and Neuroticism to Predict Circulating Concentrations of Inflammatory Markers (2017) · cites this paper as [30]
The measure of neuroticism used in this study primarily taps the anxiety facet of this trait.
“An important limitation is that the measure of neuroticism used in this study primarily taps the anxiety facet of this trait (30).”
From Socioeconomic Status Interacts with Conscientiousness and Neuroticism to Predict Circulating Concentrations of Inflammatory Markers (2017) · cites this paper as [30]
Higher levels of IL-6 have recently been linked to lower Conscientiousness.
“For instance, higher levels of the inflammatory marker Interleukin (IL)-6 have recently been linked to lower Conscientiousness [65, 66].”
From Personality and Longevity: Knowns, Unknowns, and Implications for Public Health and Personalized Medicine (2011) · cites this paper as [65]
The increasing inclusion of biomarkers in personality-longevity studies is beginning to illuminate biological pathways such as systemic inflammation and artery calcification.
“Second, the increasing inclusion of biomarkers in personality-longevity studies is beginning to illuminate biological pathways such as systemic inflammation [65, 66, 218, 219] and artery calcification [220, 221]”
From Personality and Longevity: Knowns, Unknowns, and Implications for Public Health and Personalized Medicine (2011) · cites this paper as [65]
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- Authors
- Sutin, A. R., Terracciano, A., Deiana, B., Naitza, S., Ferrucci, L., Uda, M., Schlessinger, D., & Costa, P. T.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Sutin, A. R.
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2009-12-09
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1485-1493
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- PMC
- PMC2933046
- OpenAlex
- W1984678874
- Cited by
- 244
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 13.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Vermont
- University of Cambridge
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 AG999999)
- National Institute on Aging (ZIAAG000180, ZIAAG000197, ZIAAG000183)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- neuroticism, conscientiousness, interleukin-6, personality traits, chronic inflammation, C-reactive protein, impulsivity, smoking, body weight
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, C-Reactive Protein, Female, Health Status, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Inflammation, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Neurotic Disorders, Personality, Biomarkers, Health Behavior, Interleukin-6, Logistic Models
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