title: Personality and reduced incidence of walking limitation in late life: findings from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between openness to experience and conscientiousness and incident reported walking limitation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population consisted of 786 men and women aged 71-81 years (M = 75 years, SD = 2.7) participating in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition-Cognitive Vitality Substudy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly 20% of participants (155/786) developed walking limitation during 6 years of follow-up. High openness was associated with a reduced risk of walking limitation (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.69-0.98), independent of sociodemographic factors, health conditions, and conscientiousness. This association was not mediated by lifestyle factors and was not substantially modified by other risk factors for functional disability. Conscientiousness was not associated with risk of walking limitation (HR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.77-1.07).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that personality dimensions, specifically higher openness to experience, may contribute to functional resilience in late life.
authors.affiliation: Gerontology Program, School of Social Work, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA. toleam@umsl.edu
authors.forename: Magdalena I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Tolea
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Faulkner
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosano
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satterfield
authors.forename: Hilsa N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Ayonayon
authors.forename: Eleanor M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Simonsick
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D001823:Body Composition; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009142:Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; D010551:Personality; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D014481:United States; D016138:Walking