Personality traits and physical health in older adults: Nordic–Baltic study

Background

Personality traits are recognised as determinants of health across the life course, yet comparative evidence on their association with physical health in older European populations remains limited. This study examines the relationship between Big Five personality traits and physical health among older adults in Nordic and Baltic countries.

Methods

Data were drawn from Waves 7–9 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including 16,030 individuals aged 50 years and older. Physical health was operationalised as a composite index based on chronic diseases, mobility limitations, and limitations in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), derived using principal component analysis. Logistic regression models assessed associations between personality traits and physical health, adjusting for age, gender, and country.

Results

The first principal component explained 57.2% of the variance in physical health, with 57.4% classified as having better health. Conscientiousness was positively associated with better physical health (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.12–1.21), while neuroticism was negatively associated (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.71–0.76). Other traits were not associated after adjustment. Nordic populations had higher odds of better physical health than Baltic populations. Model discrimination improved from AUC = 0.62 to 0.74.

Conclusions

Personality traits, particularly conscientiousness and neuroticism, are associated with physical health in older adults, although effect sizes are modest. Findings highlight the importance of integrating psychological and contextual factors in research on healthy ageing.

Key messages

• Conscientiousness improves, and neuroticism worsens physical health in older adults, highlighting the need to integrate psychological factors into healthy ageing strategies.

• Nordic–Baltic differences show that context matters; effective policies must combine individual traits with structural and socio-environmental determinants.