As life expectancy is increasing in various regions of the world, dementia is becoming a growing public health concern. In 2005 an estimated 25 million people had dementia, and the number is expected to reach 81.1 million in 2040.
While there have been a number of studies linking being in a couple to good health and longevity this is one of the first studies to focus on mid-life marital status and the risk of dementia.
So researchers based in Finland and Sweden interviewed a random sample of 2,000 men and women who took part in the cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia study. The participants came from two regions in Eastern Finland.
Individuals were initially surveyed at around 50 years of age and again around 21 years later. Participants were divided into the following groups: married/cohabitant, single, divorced or widowed. The team also investigated whether there was a link between living alone and being a carrier of the apolipoprotein E e4 gene variant (or allele), the known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
The results reveal that people living without a partner during middle age had a much higher risk of developing cognitive impairment in late life compared to those living with a partner. Individuals who are widowed at this age are three times more likely to develop dementia. The study also concludes that carriers of apolipoprotein E e4 gene variant who lose their partners and remain living alone have the highest risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The authors say these results are important for preventing dementia and cognitive impairment and that "supportive intervention for individuals who have lost a partner might be a promising strategy in preventive health care."
These results also add to a growing body of evidence for the general importance of social factors in sustaining healthy brain functioning, they conclude.
This study strengthens the hypothesis that the development of cognitive impairment and dementia is a long process that is affected by various factors throughout life, writes researcher and epidemiologist Catherine Helmer in an accompanying editorial.
She believes that to understand the link between marital status and dementia, future research should focus on the stress caused by a separation and satisfaction with relationships. She also suggests that the findings could lead to preventive strategies that encourage unmarried, especially widowed, people to increase their social engagement by taking part in cultural, social, and sporting activities.
Source
British Medical Journal