Having greater purpose in life associated with reduced Alzheimer's risk

March, 2010
  • Data from a large long-running study has found that greater purpose in life was associated with a substantially reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, as well as a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and a slower rate of cognitive decline.

Data from over 900 community-dwelling older adults participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project has found that greater purpose in life was associated with a substantially reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, as well as a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and a slower rate of cognitive decline. Specifically, those scoring in the top 10% of a purpose in life measure (4.2 out of 5) were approximately 2.4 times more likely to remain free of Alzheimer's disease than individuals in the bottom 10% (score of 3.0). The association was independent of sociodemographic status, depression, neuroticism, social network size, and number of chronic health conditions.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/jaaj-hgp022510.php

Reference: 

[328] Boyle, P. A., Buchman A. S., Barnes L. L., & Bennett D. A.
(2010).  Effect of a Purpose in Life on Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Persons.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 67(3), 304 - 310.

Related News

Unmet needs among those living at home with dementia

A study involving 254 people with dementia living at home has found that 99% of people with dementia and 97% of their caregivers had one or more unmet needs, 90% of which were safety-related.
Alzheimer's a much larger cause of death than reported

A new U.S. study suggests that Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are markedly under-reported on death certificates and medical records. Death certificates tend to only provide an immediate cause, such as pneumonia, and don’t mention the underlying condition that provoked it.
Highest risk Alzheimer's genetic carriers take positive steps after learning risk status

It’s often argued that telling people that they carry genes increasing their risk of Alzheimer’s will simply upset them to no purpose. A new study challenges that idea.
Genes implicated in late-onset Alzheimer's disease

11 new genetic susceptibility factors for Alzheimer’s identified
Genes involved in familial Alzheimer's disease

Understanding a protein's role in familial Alzheimer's disease
Gene variation associated with brain atrophy in MCI

Analysis of data from 237 patients with mild cognitive impairment (mean age 79.9) has found that, compared to those carrying the ‘normal’ ApoE3 gene (the most common variant of the ApoE gene), the ApoE4 carriers showed markedly greater rates of shrinkage in 13 of 15 brain regions thought to be k
Alzheimer's gene worse for women

Analysis of data from more than 8,000 people, most of them older than 60, has revealed that, among the 5,000 people initially tested cognitively normal, carrying one copy of the “Alzheimer’s gene” (ApoE4) only slightly increased men’s risk of developing

Gene variant makes some brains more resilient to Alzheimer's

Analysis of 700 subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative has revealed a genetic mutation (rs4728029) that’s associated with people who develop Alzheimer’s pathology but don’t show clinical symptoms in their lifetime.
Site of plaque buildup matters

Analysis of brain scans and cognitive scores of 64 older adults from the NIA's Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (average age 76) has found that, between the most cognitively stable and the most declining (over a 12-year period), there was no significant difference in the total amount of amy
Loss of smell early sign of Alzheimer’s

A pilot study involving 94 older adults, of whom 18 had Alzheimer’s, 24 had

Pages

more
Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news