Chronic stress tied to Alzheimer's: A new study on how stress affects our brain

Specialists conducted a study on the link between chronic stress, mild cognitive impairment, and also Alzheimer's disease.

They discovered that people diagnosed with chronic stress had higher risks to be later diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's.

Let's find out more about how it works.

It's a huge problem for Sweden

In Sweden, around 160,000 people have some form of dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common.

This number is increasing due to longer life expectancy.

While there have been advancements in diagnostic methods and early intervention therapies, there's a need to identify more risk factors for Alzheimer's.

Past studies hinted at a link between chronic stress, depression, and even dementia.

This new experiment confirms that people experiencing chronic stress or depression have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Their chances were more than twice as high for those with chronic stress or depression compared to those without either condition.

For individuals with both chronic stress and depression, the risk was up to four times higher.

Chronic stress is when someone has been under stress without relief for at least six months.

However, it's important to note that the risk, while elevated, is still relatively low, and the exact cause is unclear.

Why it's important

This finding can help improve preventive efforts and better understand dementia risk factors.

Specialists tracked 44,446 patients with chronic stress and/or depression diagnoses for eight years to see how many later developed mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's.

Compared to over 1.3 million people in the same age group, those with mental health issues were more likely to receive mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's diagnoses.
 

• Related news:
• research
• alzheimer
• stress
• depression
• brain
• 15 October 2023

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