Ultimately, the public health significance of neuroticism hinges on whether knowledge that neuroticism is a potent risk factor for many adverse outcomes can be translated into the prevention of those outcomes. Perhaps the most likely way in which this is could happen is through improved understanding of the basic nature of each of the health and mental health problems associated with neuroticism. That is, achieving a full understanding of why each disorder is related to neuroticism is almost certain to advance our understanding of both neuroticism and each disorder. Indeed, understanding why high neuroticism places persons at increased risk for such seemingly diverse outcomes as depression, schizophrenia, diabetes, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and heart disease could change how we conceptualize each of these disorders in fundamentally important ways. Because improved understanding often leads to improved prevention and treatment, discovering how neuroticism is related to each outcome should eventually lead to improved, and potentially innovative, ways of preventing and alleviating each of the many health and mental health problems linked to neuroticism.
