Singles Are 42 Percent More Likely to Suffer From Dementia

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new study released by BBC News argues that single individuals are 42 percent more likely to develop degenerative neurological disease throughout their lives than their married peers.

The study, conducted by researchers at University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom, shows that among widowers, this risk is 20 percent higher, while divorcees face the same risk of dementia as married people.

For the purposes of this meta-analysis, scholars analyzed and compared 15 individual studies conducted previously, involving 812,000 participants, on the potential link between marital status and dementia.

As the BBC points out, the findings, published in the scientific periodical Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, can be explained in a number of ways.

Researchers argue that marriage can change people’s exposure to risk and protective factors in relation to dementia. Studies show, for instance, that those who are married tend to adopt healthier lifestyles.

“Spouses can help encourage healthy habits, care for their partners and provide valuable social support,” says Laura Phipps of Alzheimer‘s Research UK, considered the most common form of dementia.

Previous research has proven that among the factors contributing to increased risk of dementia are: lack of physical activity, hypertension, obesity, social isolation, low level of schooling.

The significance of socializing

The new study also alerts that there is scientific evidence that those who are married are also more likely to engage in social relationships.

According to the research, social interaction helps reduce the risk of developing dementia.

“The study suggests that social interaction can help build a cognitive reserve – a mental resilience that allows people to live longer with a disease like Alzheimer‘s before showing symptoms,” explains Phipps.

The impact of grief

Grief may also have a direct correlation with increased risk of dementia. That is, the stress caused by the loss of a spouse has a harmful effect on the neurons of the brain hippocampus (considered the memory center in our brain), which would explain the higher incidence of the disease among widowers.

Another potential explanation is that the onset of dementia is related to cognitive aspects – which influence the behavior of each individual – and personality traits.

According to the study, people with difficulty in flexible thinking or communication – and consequently less cognitive reserve – may be less likely to get married, in societies where marriage is considered the social norm. Therefore, there would only be a correlation between the factors: people who develop dementia are also typically single, and the two conditions would result from a third factor.