2024-08-01 18:03:04
Anxiety may be linked to increased risk of dementia years later, study suggests A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics SocietyWednesday.
The findings show that anxiety is associated with a nearly threefold increase in the risk of dementia, with an average time to diagnosis of 10 years.
According to the study, this is the first study to examine the association between different levels of anxiety – whether chronic, resolved or new – and duration of exposure to anxiety, with dementia risk.
More than 55 million people worldwide live with dementia, and this number is expected to increase to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050.
The Hunter Community Study recruited more than 2,132 participants between December 2004 and December 2007, all aged 60 to 81 years or older.
Researchers found that chronic or new anxiety that develops before the age of 70 increases the risk of dementia compared with those aged 70 and older.
64 of these participants developed dementia.
Researchers say dementia may be a cause of anxiety, as it is common among older adults and people with dementia.
The study also showed that people who resolved their anxiety had a significantly reduced risk of developing dementia, similar to participants without anxiety.
The researchers concluded that a possible strategy to reduce the risk of dementia is to quickly and effectively manage anxiety disorders.
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