Purpose in life protects against Alzheimer's disease

June, 2012

New results from a longitudinal study add to evidence that having a purpose and finding meaning in life protects against the harmful effects of Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain.

Here’s a different aspect to cognitive reserve. I have earlier reported on the first tranche of results from this study. Now new results, involving 246 older adults from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, have confirmed earlier findings that having a greater purpose in life may help protect against the brain damage wrought by Alzheimer’s disease.

Participants received an annual clinical evaluation for up to 10 years, which included detailed cognitive testing and neurological exams. They were also interviewed about their purpose in life, that is, the degree to which they derived meaning from life's experiences and were focused and intentional. After death (average age 88), their brains were examined for Alzheimer’s pathology.

Cognitive function, unsurprisingly, declined progressively with increased Alzheimer’s pathology (such as amyloid plaque and tau tangles). But ‘purpose in life’ modified this association, with higher levels of purposiveness reducing the effect of pathology on cognition. The effect was strongest for those with the greatest damage (especially tangles).

The analysis took into account depression, APOE gene status, and other relevant medical factors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/rumc-pil050412.php

Reference:

[2954] Boyle, P. A., Buchman A. S., Wilson R. S., Yu L., Schneider J. A., & Bennett D. A.
(2012). Effect of Purpose in Life on the Relation Between Alzheimer Disease Pathologic Changes on Cognitive Function in Advanced Age.
Archives of General Psychiatry. 69(5), 499 - 504.

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