Personality traits and cancer survival: a Danish cohort study

• Published in: British journal of cancer Vol. 95; no. 2; pp. 146 - 152
• Main Authors: NAKAYA, N, HANSEN, P. E, SCHAPIRO, I. R, EPLOV, L. F, SAITO-NAKAYA, K, UCHITOMI, Y, JOHANSEN, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 17.07.2006
• Subjects: Age Distribution; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical Study; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Denmark - epidemiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Habits; Health Behavior; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Neoplasms - diagnosis; Neoplasms - mortality; Neoplasms - psychology; Neurotic Disorders - diagnosis; Neurotic Disorders - epidemiology; Neurotic Disorders - psychology; Personality; Personality Assessment; Personality Inventory; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Risk; Sex Distribution; Survival Analysis; Tumors; Denmark; Europe; Denmark, Copenhagen; Prospective; Cancerology; prospective cohort study; Cohort study; cancer survival; neuroticism; Danish; extraversion; Personality; Malignant tumor; Survival
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6603244

We conducted a population-based prospective cohort study in Denmark to investigate associations between the personality traits and cancer survival. Between 1976 and 1977, 1020 residents of the Copenhagen County completed a questionnaire eliciting information on personality traits and various health habits. The personality traits extraversion and neuroticism were measured using the short form of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Follow-up in the Danish Cancer Registry for 1976-2002 revealed 189 incidents of primary cancer and follow-up for death from the date of the cancer diagnosis until 2005 revealed 82 deaths from all-cause in this group. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) of death from all-cause according to extraversion and neuroticism adjusting for potential confounding factors. A significant association was found between neuroticism and risk of death (HR, 2.3 (95% CI=1.1-4.7); Linear trend P=0.04) but not between extraversion and risk of death (HR, 0.9 (0.4-1.7); Linear trend P=0.34). Similar results were found when using cancer-related death. Stratification by gender revealed a strong positive association between neuroticism and the risk of death among women (Linear trend P=0.03). This study showed that neuroticism is negatively [corrected] associated with cancer survival. Further research on neuroticism and cancer survival is needed.