The risk is more pronounced for widows and divorced in mid-life as they are three times more likely to suffer from these cognitive disorders, claim researchers in researchers in Sweden and Finland in a study that was published in the British Medical Journal.
Partner as a shield against cognitive impairment
For the purpose of the study, researchers interviewed - randomly selected 2,000 persons from the Kuopio and Joensuu regions of eastern Finland in the 1970s and 1980s. The average age of these people at the start of the study was 50.4 years.
Out of the people selected randomly, 1,409 of the volunteers were followed for, on average, 21 years to figure out if to marital condition had an impact on the development of cognitive impairment later in life.
When these volunteers were re-examined in 1998 for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, their ages ranged from 65-79 years. Factors such as education, lifestyle and smoking habits that affect cognitive impairment were taken into consideration.
Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia was detected in 57 of the volunteers, 82 had mild cognitive impairment while 1,270 volunteers remained healthy.
"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.
Krister Hakansson from Vaxjo University and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said that the results of the study suggested "Living in a relationship with a partner might imply cognitive and social challenges that have a protective effect against cognitive impairment later in life."
Big difference between sexes
The study found that men who lived alone in mid-life were two and a half times more likely to contact dementia and Alzheimer's disease later in life.
On the other hand, the chances of women living under similar circumstances and developing cognitive impairment were 1.87 times.
The results of the study underscore the importance of social factors that can facilitate healthy brain functioning.
About dimentia
Dementia is a progressive and long-term decline in the cognitive function, due to the damage or disease in the body, generally beyond normal aging. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood.
The disease is a non-specific illness syndrome, in which affected areas of cognition can be memory, attention, language, and problem solving.
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