London - Getting divorced, losing a partner or struggling with work problems in middle-age could increase your risk of suffering dementia in later life, warn researchers.
They found conditions such as Alzheimer’s may be linked to the amount of stress experienced up to four decades earlier.
Common stressful life events can have “severe and long-standing physiological and psychological consequences” in the brain, claims a study that investigated the effects of stress on middle-aged women.
The study began in 1968 when 800 Swedish women underwent neuropsychiatric tests, which were repeated in 1974, 1980, 1992, 2000 and 2005. At the initial assessment, the women, who were born in 1914, 1918, 1922 and 1930, were asked if and how they had suffered from the impact of 18 different types of dramatic events, known as psychosocial stressors. These included divorce, becoming a widow, work problems, serious problems with children and ill-health in a relative, including mental illness.
One in four women had suffered at least one stressful event, 23 percent reported two, one in five had suffered three and 16 percent had been through four or more, says a report in the online journal BMJ Open. During the assessment period, 19 percent (153) of them developed dementia, with 104 of these being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The number of stressors reported in 1968 was associated with a 21 percent greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s and a 15 percent extra risk of developing any type of dementia in later life.
The report said: “Common stressors may have severe and long-standing physiological and psychological consequences.
“The number of psychosocial stressors measured in middle-aged women was related to distress and incidence of Alzheimer’s disease almost four decades later.”
An increase in stress hormones in the body can cause harmful changes in the brain associated with heart disease, high blood pressure and dementia. The researchers said higher levels of stress hormones can even be measured several decades after traumatic events, as found in Holocaust survivors. They called for more investigations to assess whether more therapy should be given to people who suffer from stressful events in their lives.
Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We all go through stressful events. Understanding how these events may become a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease is key to helping us find ways of preventing or treating the condition.”
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘These types of studies are important for highlighting areas for further investigation.
“From this study, it is hard to know whether stress contributes directly to the development of dementia, whether it is an indicator of another underlying risk factor, or whether the link is due to an entirely different factor.” - Daily Mail