PREMORBID PERSONALITY-CHARACTERISTICS IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - AN EXPLORATORY CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Linking data from a case-control study of Alzheimer's disease (AD) wit h data from a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) outpa tient study, we identified 13 AD cases and 16 controls for case-contro l comparison. The mean time between personality testing and onset of A D (or corresponding age for controls) was 13 years in cases and 14 yea rs in controls, AD cases, but not the controls, had scores significant ly greater than the normative reference on MMPI scales measuring socia l introversion (p = 0.05) and pessimism (p = 0.01). When compared to c ontrols, AD cases had significantly greater scores on the social intro version scale (p = 0.03). Despite the small sample size and some desig n limitations of this exploratory study, our findings may suggest that subjects who score higher on these personality scales have a greater risk for AD.