- To better understand the connection between dementia symptoms and psychological discomfort, researchers studied 67,688 people for an average of 25 years (stress, depressive mood, exhaustion, and nervousness).
- The researchers discovered that signs of psychological distress are linked to a higher incidence of dementia.
- It may be possible to prevent dementia if dementia risk factors are well understood.
Around the world, 55 million individuals currently suffer from dementia, with approximately 10 million new cases being identified each year, according to the World Health OrganizationTrusted Source. Researchers must comprehend the causes of dementia in order to reduce the risk of dementia in a population.
The relationship between psychological distress, a catch-all word for signs of stress, anxiety, and depression, and dementia has been the subject of several research. The connection between the two is still not evident.
Now, a new study investigating the connection between mental anguish and dementia has been published in JAMA Network OpenTrusted Source.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki, the University of Eastern Finland, and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare carried out the study.
According to earlier research, including one from 2022, people with depression levels that were becoming worse, were persistently high, or were chronically low had a higher risk of dementia than people with no depression or signs of depression that were getting better.
Anxiety, physical weariness, and psychological stress have been linked to a later onset of dementia, according to other studies.
On the other hand, a 28-year follow-up studyTrusted Source on the link between depression and dementia discovered that dementia was more likely to be the cause of depression than the other way around.
Alzheimer's disease and mental health
Since psychological anguish is prevalent in the early stages of dementia, research that determine risk must have a substantial time lag between measuring psychological distress and the frequency of dementia for the findings to be regarded as reliable.
Studies with an aged population and brief follow-up times are unable to distinguish between causal risk variables and early (prodromal) dementia symptoms.
"The competing risk of death should be taken into consideration in investigations on psychological discomfort and dementia. Some authors argue that studies should consider whether those with mental health issues tend to die earlier in life. and hence might not live long enough to exhibit dementia.
Using one of the largest population data sets, extensive follow-up, and careful modelling of death [from] other causes, Dr. Sonja Sulkava, the study's principal investigator and a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Tiina Paunio's team, told Medical News Today that they were able to "clarify that connection."
Participants in the National FINRISK Study surveys between 1972 and 2007 totaled 67,688 people, aged 25 to 74.
The 40-year-old Finnish population study FINRISK examined risk factors for chronic, noncommunicable diseases and included questions on psychological distress symptoms in its surveys.
Data on dementia and death were gathered from the Finnish Health Register for each participant up until December 31, 2017.
Risk of dementia increasing by up to 24%
The researchers discovered that signs of psychological distress were linked to an increased risk of dementia of 17–24% in an etiological Poisson model and an increased incidence of dementia of 8–12% in a Fine-Gray model, after accounting for the competing risk of death and other factors that affect the risk of dementia.
Dr. Moffitt expressed confidence in the study's findings, pointing out that they coincide with those of a New Zealand population study. dependable source
"My team's findings showing early factors in later dementia include mental health were published in 2022. We studied 1.7 million New Zealanders for 30 years through national medical records, and we discovered that a mental problem in adolescence predicted a 4 times higher risk of dementia in old age.
The New Zealand study adjusted for the competing risk of mortality, same like the population study from Finland.
Although she was not involved in the study, Dr. Linda Ernstsen, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told MNT:
"The study's main finding is that mental health problems and feelings of sadness are linked to early death and dementia. These results highlight the need of identifying causes and triggers and focusing on mental health at all ages."
Study restrictions
The researchers note in their paper that people who did not complete the FINRISK survey or whose data was incomplete also had more risk factors, an increased risk of dementia, and an increased risk of mortality, and that this selective participation and non-responsiveness may have skewed the study's findings.
The researchers also admitted that they did not use a validated multi-item questionnaire to measure psychological distress, instead using a variety of single-item measures for various symptoms of psychological distress. These measurements do, however, significantly correlate and exhibit a pattern of connection with dementia.
Furthermore, the researchers admitted that there was no information on dementia risk factors such hearing loss, traumatic brain injury, and minimal social contact.
Dr. Sulkava continued by saying that because study participants were only asked to report their current signs of psychological discomfort once, the symptoms lack a "longitudinal perspective."
Dr. Ernstsen drew attention to the omission of data on social isolation and marital status. Married status has been shown to be protective against dementia.
Dr. Ernstsen continued, "We also know that cardiovascular disease is connected with both mental health and dementia risk, but in the present investigation, only the presence of diabetes was corrected for.
The principal limitation of this study relates to reverse causation, according to Dr. Archana Singh-Manoux, research professor and director at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), who was not involved in the study.
When the researchers eliminated those with a follow-up of less than 10 years from one of the models used to calculate dementia risk, the sensitivity analyses revealed no significant links between psychological distress and dementia.
Future investigation
Dr. Sulkava informed MNT that larger studies and longer follow-ups will be required when asked about the following research stages.
Sleep issues are closely related to stress, tiredness, and depressed symptoms, which are also thought to be dementia risk factors. However, she noted that most epidemiological studies don't have sufficient sample sizes or lengthy follow-up periods.
The researcher continued, "Our next step is to explore sleep issues and sleep duration and dementia risk utilising the big Finnish cohorts."
0 Comments