Personality Traits Not Linked to Cancer

People who are stubborn or prone to lying not at increased risk for disease

By Colin Allen, published on June 01, 2003

People with strong personality types are not at higher risk for cancer, according to new research. People who are especially stubborn, extroverted, neurotic or prone to lying were no more likely to develop cancer than others according to a seven-year study that appears in the current Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Study author Yoshitaka Tsubono, M.D., associate professor of Public Health at Tohoku University in Japan, scoffs at the old wives' tale claiming that personality has an affect on the development of cancer. To test whether personality might be a risk factor for cancer, 30,277 Japanese participants completed a personality test and explained their health habits. Nearly 700 people were diagnosed with cancer at the start of the study. After seven years, an additional 986 people had developed the disease.

Researchers also tracked personality traits in the participants—liveliness, emotional instability, social conformity and emotional coldness. None of the traits were related to the risk of developing cancer. Even when family history, smoking, body weight and other factors were taken into account, personality did not appear to be a factor. The best way to reduce cancer risk is well known: exercise, maintain a healthy weight and don't smoke.