According to a new American study, being married would make it possible to fight against the risk of dementia. Being separated, divorced, cohabiting or widowed would, on the contrary, affect men more.
This may encourage some who were reluctant to take the plunge. If marriage has been less popular in France for fifty years (235,000 couples got involved in 2018 compared to 416,521 in 1972), it would nevertheless seem that it is very beneficial for health. According to a study published this summer in The Journals of Gerontologyit would, among other things, fight against dementia.
To reach this conclusion, scientists from the University of Michigan (USA) used data from the Health and Retirement Study conducted in 2000 to 2014. They thus analyzed the profiles of 15,379 participants (6,650 men and 8,729 women) aged at least 52 years and showing no signs of dementia. They separated them into several categories: separated/divorced, cohabiting, widowed and never married.
They were thus able to observe that unmarried people had a much higher risk of developing dementia during the period studied than the others. And this, regardless of their status. In detail, the men seemed more affected.
“The enormous influence of marriage”
“Marital status is an important but neglected factor of social risk and protection against dementia,” said researcher Hui Liu, who conducted the study. “This research is important because the number of single seniors in the United States continues to rise as people live longer and their marital histories become more complex,” she continues.
“These findings will be useful to policy makers and healthcare professionals seeking to better identify vulnerable subpopulations and design effective intervention strategies to reduce the risk of dementia,” the researchers conclude.
This study is not the first to insist on the importance of the marital bond for the health of the elderly. A study conducted by Emory University, for example, showed that unmarried people were more likely to die of heart disease. “I was surprised by the enormous influence of marriage. The social support of marriage, and perhaps other benefits of companionship, are important for people with cardiovascular disease“, commented one of these authors, Dr. Arshed Quyyyumisaid, of Emory University.
The pet would also be very beneficial for health
But if you’re more into animals than people, it works too. Many studies have also shown that owning a pet, and especially a dog, released pressure and encouraged physical activity and social interaction. This would thus protect against depression and have very beneficial effects for cardiovascular health.
These studies are all the more interesting as dementia is a real global health issue. 50 million people are currently affected in the four corners of the globe and nearly 10 million new cases appear each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)making it a “public health priority” in 2017, it is one of the leading causes of disability and dependency among older people.
Indeed, this syndrome is characterized by an impairment of cognitive function. It affects memory, reasoning, orientation, calculation, learning ability, language and even judgement, which makes daily life extremely difficult for patients.
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