Preventive medicine has at its disposal a new tool to avoid future damage to our health: personality tests. Because depending on how you are or how you take life, more or less ballots you will have to get sick as you get older.
This is indicated by a study carried out with 1,037 individuals from the New Zealand city of Dunedin by scientists from Duke University in the United States. The study consisted of monitoring this homogeneous group of people, born between April 1972 and March 1973, over time. When they turned 26, their family and friends were asked to define their character to score them in the so-called big five or five great personality factors: extraversion, emotional stability, agreeable character, seriousness or conscientious disposition and openness. mental . In addition, strangers were asked to also describe them after briefly dealing with them: this was how they checked whether these last insights coincided with those of their inner circle.
Twelve years later, when the volunteers turned 38, they underwent a comprehensive medical check-up. The final conclusion was that one of the big five effectively exerted a decisive influence on their state of health : 45% of those who had the lowest seriousness or conscientious mood – that is, they were less disciplined – presented various disorders or risk factors, such as hypertension, kidney problems, and high cholesterol. Experts attribute it to the fact that “serious” people do less excesses, follow diets and treatments with more determination, practice sports and so on.
Another characteristic that helps to stay healthy is open-mindedness , that is, tolerance and acceptance of new ideas or experiences. Here, the explanation lies in the fact that this psychological trait is usually associated with a high IQ and, consequently, a greater awareness of the need to take care of oneself. “The data show that if a doctor knows the personality of the patient it is possible to develop a more effective and personalized preventive medicine ,” concludes Salomon Israel, director of the research.
