Cynical people could have a higher risk of developing dementia.
Cynical distrust (the belief that others are driven by selfish intentions) has also been linked to health consequences such as heart disease, a University of Eastern Finland news release reported.
"These results add to the evidence that people's view on life and personality may have an impact on their health," study author Anna-Maija Tolppanen, PhD, of the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, said in the news release. "Understanding how a personality trait like cynicism affects risk for dementia might provide us with important insights on how to reduce risks for dementia."
The researchers looked at 1,449 people who were an average age of 71. The participants were given a dementia test and were asked to answer a questionnaire that measured their cynicism. The participants were asked questions such as: "I think most people would lie to get ahead," "It is safer to trust nobody" and "Most people will use somewhat unfair reasons to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it," the news release reported.
The study subjects were grouped into "low, moderate, or high" cynicism levels based on their questionnaire results.
In the study 622 participants completed a second dementia test. Over the course of eight years 46 people were diagnosed with dementia.
The researchers looked at the test results after adjusting for lifestyle factors such as "high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking," the news release reported.
The team found people with high levels of cynicism were three times more likely to develop dementia than those who had low levels.
"Of the 164 people with high levels of cynicism, 14 people developed dementia, compared to nine of the 212 people with low levels of cynicism," the news release reported.
After the researchers adjusted for lifestyle factors there was no association between cynicism and earlier death.
