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Engaged Lifestyle, Personality, and Mental Status Among Centenarians

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Abstract

This study assessed engaged lifestyle activities (e.g., volunteering, traveling, and public speaking) for centenarians of the Georgia Centenarian Study. A total of 285 centenarians and near-centenarians (i.e., 98 years and older) and their proxy informants participated in this study. The Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was assessed for all centenarians, and proxy informants reported on lifestyle activities and personality traits of the centenarians. Results suggested that participants who had volunteered, traveled, and those who had given public talks and balanced their checkbooks were more likely to show relatively high mental status scores (i.e., MMSE > 17). Personality traits were found to be moderators in the relationship between engaged lifestyle and mental status: Participants with high levels of Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness and with high levels of engaged lifestyle were more likely to show relatively high mental status scores (i.e., MMSE > 17), whereas participants with low levels of Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and with low levels of engaged lifestyle were more likely to show relatively low mental status scores (i.e., MMSE < 18). The results suggest that engaged lifestyle, particularly in combination with personality traits, plays an important role in the level of cognitive functioning among oldest old adults.

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Acknowledgments

The Georgia Centenarian Study (Leonard W. Poon, PI) is funded by 1P01-AG17553 from the National Institute on Aging, a collaboration among The University of Georgia, Tulane University, Boston University, University of Kentucky, Emory University, Duke University, Wayne State University, Iowa State University, and University of Michigan. Authors acknowledge the valuable recruitment and data acquisition effort from M. Burgess, K. Grier, E. Jackson, E. McCarthy, K. Shaw, L. Strong, and S. Reynolds, data acquisition team manager; S. Anderson, E. Cassidy, M. Janke, and T. Savla, data management; M. Poon for project fiscal management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerontology Program, Iowa State University, 1096 LeBaron Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Peter Martin, Joan Baenziger & Maurice MacDonald

  2. Duke Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Ilene C. Siegler

  3. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Leonard W. Poon

Authors
  1. Peter Martin
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  2. Joan Baenziger
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  3. Maurice MacDonald
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  4. Ilene C. Siegler
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  5. Leonard W. Poon
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Correspondence to Peter Martin.

Additional information

"This study is conducted for the Georgia Centenarian Study."

Additional authors for the "Georgia Centenarian Study" include S. M. Jazwinski, R. C. Green, M. Gearing, W. R. Markesbery, J. L. Woodard, M. A. Johnson, J. S. Tenover, W. L. Rodgers, D. B. Hausman, C. Rott, A. Davey, and J. Arnold.

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Martin, P., Baenziger, J., MacDonald, M. et al. Engaged Lifestyle, Personality, and Mental Status Among Centenarians. J Adult Dev 16, 199–208 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-009-9066-y

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