Journal
JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Volume 35, Issue 6, Pages 616-623Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s10865-011-9390-0
Keywords
Personality; Impulsivity; White blood cells; Inflammation; Neuroticism; Conscientiousness
Categories
Funding
- Intramural NIH HHS [Z99 AG999999, ZIA AG000197-03, ZIA AG000197-04] Funding Source: Medline
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A chronically elevated white blood cell (WBC) count is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. The present research tests whether facets of impulsivity-impulsiveness, excitement-seeking, self-discipline, and deliberation-are associated with chronically elevated WBC counts. Community-dwelling participants (N = 5,652) from Sardinia, Italy, completed a standard personality questionnaire and provided blood samples concurrently and again 3 years later. Higher scores on impulsivity, in particular impulsiveness and excitement-seeking, were related to higher total WBC counts and higher lymphocyte counts at both time points. Impulsiveness was a predictor of chronic inflammation: for every standard deviation difference in this trait, there was an almost 25% higher risk of elevated WBC counts at both time points (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.10-1.38). These associations were mediated, in part, by smoking and body mass index. The findings demonstrate that links between psychological processes and immunity are not limited to acute stressors; stable personality dispositions are associated with a chronic inflammatory state.
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