Overview
- Researchers synthesized longitudinal data from 569,859 people across four continents, covering 5,997,667 person-years and 43,851 deaths.
- Each one-point increase in neuroticism was associated with about a 3% higher risk of death, with stronger associations in younger adults.
- Conscientiousness showed the strongest protective link, with roughly a 10% lower mortality risk per one-point increase.
- Extraversion was tied to about a 3% lower risk of death, with effects more evident in the United States and Australia.
- Openness and agreeableness showed weak or no consistent associations, and the authors suggest personality influences mortality through health behaviors and biological processes with effects comparable to socioeconomic status.