A new study found out that if you are divorced or single, you have a higher chance of getting dementia. But even more interesting is that if you stay married for a long time during your middle years, it could lessen your chances of developing dementia when you get older.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH/FHI) looked at people aged 44-68 and studied how being married affects risk factors for dementia. They tracked these marriages over 24 years and then saw if the individuals had been diagnosed with dementia or mild cognitive impairment after they turned 70.
People who were married for the entire period had fewer cases of dementia compared to divorced and single people. Divorced and single people had the highest amount of dementia cases.
Investigating Dementia
Asta Håberg is a doctor at St. Olav’s Hospital, an NTNU professor and now, she works as a researcher at NIPH/FHI. She notes that the survey results gave surprising facts.
“We don’t know why but it seems that being married can lower your risk of dementia,” said Haverg. “What exactly causes dementia is still a great mystery.”
Some people think that married people are healthier and it helps them avoid getting some diseases. But this study showed that married or unmarried people didn’t make a difference when it comes to avoiding dementia.
For the HUNT survey, around 150 000 people from Nord-Trøndelag let scientists use their health details for research. The scientists looked at if there was a relationship between such things as smoking, high blood pressure, fatness, not exercising, diabetes, emotional problems and having buddies with getting dementia. However, after investigating these factors the investigators concluded that none of them had any link to dementia. Håberg explained “we thought these matters would make a difference but they didn’t.”
A research showed that people who were single and had kids had a 60 percent less chance of getting dementia. It is possible that taking care of your children could help keep your brain active, which helps it stay in good shape – like having extra exercise for your brain.
Discovering the Power of Cognitive Reserves
Researchers are trying to figure out how dementia works by studying something in the brain that isn’t physical; it can’t be seen with an MRI scan or by looking inside the brain. It’s part of why doctors don’t understand dementia completely. But this study could help us better understand what causes it.
Researchers don’t know if it’s marriage or having a baby that stops dementia from happening – if the people who are less likely to get it also have a better chance of finding someone to marry and having kids. But luckily, we have something called the HUNT Study which has lots of data that can help us find out more about this.
As a doctor, she doesn’t believe that getting dementia is something we just have to accept when we get older.
Many people believe that if you live long enough, you will eventually get dementia. But my opinion is the opposite, based on something called cognitive reserves. It’s like having extra resources for your brain. Some activities might help to build these reserves and make them stronger, such as more education. This means that the more educated you are, the better your brain will be at supporting you against dementia!
Having a higher education does not protect someone from getting Alzheimer’s. The thing is, once it strikes, it affects everyone in the same way – no matter how much they study or know. So while having more knowledge can delay the onset of the disease, it doesn’t prevent it entirely.
A New NIH-funded Study Investigates if Having Children Can Reduce Dementia Risk!
REFAWOR is a research project funded by the NIH in the USA that has a budget of almost three million euros. It looks into how changes to work and living conditions might increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and cognitive problems among older people. Doctors believe these medical issues could possibly triple by 2050.
Researchers have begun to examine if having children, the type of work people do, and when they retire can affect the risk of getting dementia. Dementia is a group name for diseases or injuries in the brain which makes it harder to remember things properly, think logically, and do everyday activities. Unfortunately right now there is no medicine that can cure dementia.
We have been wishing to find a medicine for dementia for a very long time, but we haven’t had luck yet. So, instead of medicines, we are looking at other things that can help reduce the risk and keep people healthy. One of those things is having children – it’s something that the government could help make easier.
Studies Show that Genetic Links and Family Life Can Affect Dementia Risk
Scientists want to see if there are any genetic links with dementia. They know that certain genes can make it more likely for people to get dementia, but even with those genes some people can still live to be ninety without any problems. It could be that having a steady family life helps protect people from the higher risk of dementia caused by these genes.
This research doesn’t tell us how marriage prevents dementia, but it does show that being married can have an effect on risk factors. People who are in a relationship become more mentally active, manage difficulties better and handle stress more easily because they know they have someone to support them.
This study didn’t find if there was any difference between being single or in a marriage. In the survey, less than one percent of those who were not married were living with their partner.
Håberg said: “There are very few people in this age group that live together but are not married.”
This article talks about how living a certain way can affect our mental health when we get older. A lot of very smart people have studied this, and they published their findings in a journal called ‘Journal of Aging and Health’ on 2nd November 2022. They found out that a particular type of lifestyle done in young adulthood affects whether or not someone gets dementia or mild cognitive impairment when they become elderly.
The National Institutes of Health and the Research Council of Norway funded a study.
