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Being anxious, whether occasionally or chronically, can be harmful in the long term. This is what a new study reveals, which suggests that common mental health disorders can significantly increase the risk of dementia. Conclusions to take into account to put in place actions to better treat anxiety, and to do so early.
Mental health disorders, such as stress and anxiety, are the subject of much scientific research to assess their long-term impact on health, and more particularly on the risk of dementia. And for good reason: more than 55 million people suffer from them worldwide, according to data from World Health Organization (WHO), the most common form being Alzheimer’s disease. While age, smoking, social isolation and a sedentary lifestyle are known to be among the risk factors, Australian researchers wanted to assess the impact of anxiety disorders on the risk of dementia.
Published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Societytheir work is based on data from 2,132 people with an average age of 76 who participated in the Hunter Community Study in Australia, with an average follow-up of ten years. Conducted in three waves, each spaced five years apart, the survey collected data on the participants’ health and measured their anxiety at the start of the study and then at the first follow-up. Note that the researchers defined chronic anxiety as anxiety present during the first two waves of the study, occasional anxiety as anxiety only present during the second wave, and resolved anxiety as anxiety only measured during the first wave.
The research shows an increased risk of dementia, up to 3.2 times higher, with chronic anxiety or occasional anxiety. The researchers specify that the risk is even higher in participants suffering from episodes of anxiety before the age of 70. An important detail is that so-called resolved anxiety – which disappeared from one wave to the next – was not associated with an increased risk of dementia, to the point of observing similar results in the participants concerned to those without any anxiety.
“The results suggest that anxiety may be a novel risk factor to target in dementia prevention and also indicate that treating anxiety may reduce this risk.“, concludes Kay Khaing, researcher at the University of Newcastle, in a press release. Note that symptoms of dementia include forgetting recent things and events, disorientation, loss of sense of time, or difficulty solving problems, following conversations, or performing routine tasks.
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