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Background It has been shown that certain personality traits are related to mortality and disease morbidity, but the biological mechanism linking them remains unclear. Telomeres are tandem repeat DNA sequences located at the ends of chromosomes, and shorter telomere length is a predictor of mortality and late-life disease morbidity. Thus, it is possible that personality traits influence telomere length. In the present study, we examined the relationship of leukocyte telomere length with personality traits in healthy subjects. Subjects and methods The subjects were 209 unrelated healthy Japanese who were recruited from medical students at 4th–5th grade. Assessment of personality traits was performed by the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Leukocyte relative telomere length was determined by a quantitative real-time PCR method for a ratio of telomere/single copy gene. Results In the stepwise multiple regression analysis, shorter telomere length was related to lower scores of neuroticism ( P < 0.01) and conscientiousness ( P < 0.05) of the NEO-PI-R, and lower scores of harm avoidance ( P < 0.05) and reward dependence ( P < 0.05) of the TCI. Conclusions The present study suggests that leukocyte telomere length is associated with some personality traits, and this association may be implicated in the relationship between personality traits and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Previous studies have shown that the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is involved in the characterization of personality traits. FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51 or FKBP5) is a co-chaperone of heat-shock protein 90, and plays an important role in the negative feedback regulation of HPA axis function. It has been reported that a C/T single nucleotide polymorphism in the intron 2 of FKBP5 gene (rs1360780) affects FKBP5 protein levels and cortisol response to dexamethasone and psychological stress tests. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the FKBP5 polymorphism affects personality traits. In the present study, we studied the association between this polymorphism and personality traits in healthy subjects. Methods: Subjects were 826 Japanese healthy volunteers. Personality traits were assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and the FKBP5 genotype was detected by a real-time PCR and cycling probe technology for SNP typing. Results: In total subjects, the group with the T allele predictive of impaired negative feedback regulation of the HPA axis had higher scores of harm avoidance (p=0.043) and lower scores of cooperativeness (p=0.019) compared to that without the T allele. The T allele was associated with higher scores of harm avoidance in females (p=0.020) and lower scores of cooperativeness in males (p=0.015). Conclusion: The present study thus suggests that the FKBP5 polymorphism affects harm avoidance and cooperativeness in healthy subjects, with gender specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]