News: Mid-life stress may increase risk of dementia
Updated: Oct. 01, 2013
Stress is something you deal with throughout your entire life, but if you experience too much if it in mid-life,
Stress is something you deal with throughout your entire life, but if you experience too much if it in mid-life, it could trigger changes in the brain that lead to dementia, according to a new study.
The study, published in BMJ Open, tracked the well-being of 800 women for a period of 40 years.
The impact of traumatic events on each woman – including divorce, death of a loved one and unemployment – was recorded.
Researchers found that the number of stressful life events, and negative reactions to these events, was associated with a 21 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
That’s a scary stat considering everyone has to deal with stressful life events at some point.
The study’s authors suggest that more research is needed, but that in the mean time, stress management might help.
What do you do to relieve stress? Do you find you are still affected by stressful events that happened years ago?
-Katharine Watts, associate web editor
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‘ "I beat stress with naturopathy."
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