People who live alone in middle age face nearly double the risk of developing cognitive problems in later life compared with married or cohabiting counterparts, according to a study published Friday.
Researchers interviewed 2,000 people selected randomly in the Kuopio and Joensuu regions of eastern Finland in the 1970s and 80s, when their average age was 50.4 years.
Dementia
There are over 24 million people with dementia and its incidence is on the rise. Prevention through lifestyle changes is the sensible way to a dementia-free life.
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A total of 1,409 of the volunteers were then re-examined in 1998 for cognitive impairment, when their ages ranged from 65-79.
Of these, 57 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia; 82 had mild cognitive impairment; the remaining 1,270 were otherwise healthy.
![Single Males are at Risk of Developing Dementia After 40]( "Single Males are at Risk of Developing Dementia After 40")
Here's another reason why you should get married before 40: being single by the time you hit middle age can increase your risk of dementia, says a new research.
"People living without a partner at mid-life had around twice the risk of developing cognitive impairment in later life compared with people living with a partner," the study found.
The risk was roughly triple among those who had been widowed or divorced in mid-life and were not living in partnership in later life.
Education, smoking habits and other variables that are known to affect cognitive impairment were all taken into account.
The investigators found a big difference between the sexes.
Compared with co-habitants, men who lived alone in mid-life were two and a half times likelier to develop cognitive impairment later in life. The risk for women, though, was 1.87 times.
They also found a powerful link between Alzheimer's, living alone and a variant of a gene called apolipoprotein E-e4 which makes a protein associated with this disorder.
The paper, headed by Miia Kivipelto, an associate professor in ageing research at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, is published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Living with a partner "might imply cognitive and social challenges" that help shield against dementia, but why this could be so has to be explained, the authors say.
In 2005 an estimated 25 million people had dementia, and the tally is expected to reach 81.1 million in 2040, according to figures quoted in the study.
Source: AFP
LIN
Single Males are at Risk of Developing Dementia After 40
Here's another reason why you should get married before 40: being single by the time you hit middle age can increase your risk of dementia, says a new research.
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"People living without a partner at mid-life had around twice the risk of developing cognitive impairment in later life compared with people living with a partner," the study found.
The risk was roughly triple among those who had been widowed or divorced in mid-life and were not living in partnership in later life.
Education, smoking habits and other variables that are known to affect cognitive impairment were all taken into account.
The investigators found a big difference between the sexes.
Compared with co-habitants, men who lived alone in mid-life were two and a half times likelier to develop cognitive impairment later in life. The risk for women, though, was 1.87 times.
They also found a powerful link between Alzheimer's, living alone and a variant of a gene called apolipoprotein E-e4 which makes a protein associated with this disorder.
The paper, headed by Miia Kivipelto, an associate professor in ageing research at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, is published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Living with a partner "might imply cognitive and social challenges" that help shield against dementia, but why this could be so has to be explained, the authors say.
In 2005 an estimated 25 million people had dementia, and the tally is expected to reach 81.1 million in 2040, according to figures quoted in the study.
Source: AFP
LIN
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Within five years innovative 'smart' sensing systems that will help the UK's 700,000 dementia sufferers live independently at home could be available commercially.
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 Cognitive Impairment Linked To Greater Risk Of Death Among Both African Americans And WhitesAlzheimer's disease and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, is linked to an increased risk of death among both white and African American older adults, shows a new study. | Advertisement
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