Would you believe that staying single or ending a marriage can reduce the risk of dementia? A new study conducted by researchers at Florida State University has revealed a surprising fact that unmarried people are less likely to suffer from dementia. Based on the study, it can be said that being married increases the risk of dementia. A 2019 study in the US found that “unmarried people were significantly more likely to develop dementia during the study period than married people.”
Study conducted on four groups
Indeed, married people are generally considered to be in better health. Studies have shown that they have a lower risk of heart disease and heart attacks and live longer. So why did the new study come to this surprising conclusion? Let’s take a closer look. The researchers analyzed more than 24,000 Americans who did not have dementia at the start of the study. The participants’ health was monitored for 18 years. Most importantly, the team compared dementia rates among four groups – married, divorced, widowed and single. At first glance, it seemed that the three other groups had a lower risk of dementia than the married group. But after taking into account other factors that could affect the results, such as smoking and depression, only divorced and unmarried people had a lower risk of dementia. Differences were also seen based on the type of dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease the most common form of dementia
For example, being single was found to be associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. The researchers also found that people who were divorced or never married were less likely to progress from mild symptoms to dementia, and those whose spouses died during the study had a lower risk of dementia. One reason for the unexpected results may be that married people are more likely to report symptoms because their spouses notice memory problems and pressure them to see a doctor. This could make dementia seem more common in married people — even if it isn’t.
Dementia is a disease
A new study from Florida State University used one of the largest samples ever to examine the issue. This highlights that assumptions based on previous research that the death of a spouse and divorce are highly stressful life events that can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, or that unmarried people are socially isolated and therefore at higher risk of dementia, may not always be true. Dementia is a disease in which brain function declines. This affects memory, thinking ability, decision-making ability or behavior.
