People aged 18 to 65 who suffer from chronic stress or depression have a twice the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
- A Swedish study shows that people aged 18 to 65 with a previous diagnosis of chronic stress and depression were more likely to have mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
- The risk is 4 times higher if they suffer from both disorders.
- The researchers plan to continue their work and develop questionnaires and cognitive tests to improve the early identification of people at risk of dementia.
Stress is an integral part of our daily lives, to the point that it is often nicknamed the evil of the 21st century. If it is chronic, it can even cause significant health problems and increase the risk of several disorders, including dementia. And this, even within the 18 – 65 year old group, if we are to believe a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.
They found that chronic stress and depression increase this population’s risk of being diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
Chronic stress and depression: 4 times more likely to have Alzheimer’s
Researchers identified more than 44,000 people aged 18 to 65 suffering from chronic stress and/or depression in the database compiling health care in the Stockholm region. They followed them for eight years to see how many of them were later diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
Comparison with volunteers who did not have these ailments showed that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was more than twice as high in stressed or depressed individuals under the age of 65 compared to their peers who were not. Moreover, it was up to four times higher, if the patient suffered from chronic stress and depression at the same time. The risk of developing cognitive impairment was similar to these figures.
Dementia: better care for stressed or depressed people
“It is very rare for people in this age group (18 – 65 years old, Editor’s note) develop dementia, so we need to identify all the contributing factors possible risks of illness”explains Dr. Carlsson of Karolinska Institutetlead author of the research. “Here we show that the diagnosis is more common in people who have suffered from chronic stress or depression, but more studies will be needed if we are to demonstrate causality.“
He adds in a communicated of its establishment that this discovery is “important”because it allows “to improve prevention efforts and better understand the links with other risk factors for dementia”.
The expert and his team plan to continue their work by developing questionnaires and cognitive tests to help early identify people at risk of dementia.
