Narcissism Vulnerability as Risk Factor for Alzheimers Disease- A Prospective Study

Introduction: We examine whether broad factors and specific facets of pathological narcissistic personality are associated with increased risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a prospective cohort study. Participants (n=452) were monitored for up to 36 months from a baseline personality assessment with Pathological Narcissistic Inventory (NPI). The results showed that dementia developed in 159 participants. On average, participants in whom dementia developed were mostly female (p<.02), slightly older (p<.04), had lower levels of education (p<.03), lower scores on cognitive test (p<.01), higher scores on narcissistic vulnerability scores (p< .01); but no differences in depression score. Adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) for AD were greater for the following subscales of the PNI: Hiding Self [AHR (95% CI) =1.34 (1.18-1.39)], Devaluation [AHR (95% CI) =1.35 (0.65, 0.98)] and Narcissistic Vulnerability [AHR (95% CI) =1.43 (1.34-1.69)]. Also cognitive status and depression showed robust association with incident AD. The current study indicates that narcissistic vulnerability traits are associated with increased risk of AD, with significant hazard ratios.