Chronic anxiety was linked to a tripled risk of developing dementia, predominantly in the age group of 60-70 years, but managing the anxiety could have significantly lowered their risk, according to the study, suggesting that anxiety could be prevented as one of the potential measures for dementia.
Studies in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society established the fact that chronic anxiety individuals may become up to three times more likely to develop dementia than other individuals without anxiety. For example, persistent anxiety among people aged 60-70 is more likely to cause an impediment to their normal cognitive activities because they gradually lose memory and inability to make rational decisions.
The researchers, led by one at the United Kingdom’s University of Newcastle, found that those who were able to overcome their anxiety had no greater likelihood of developing dementia than those who never experienced it. The researchers therefore concluded that effective management of anxiety might be a potential way of preventing the onset of dementia.
These results might suggest an additional risk factor to focus on in the avoidance of dementia and possibly lower the risk if the anxiety is managed, said Kay Khaing, who is a correspondence researcher of the research from University of Newcastle. The majority of earlier studies on the connection among anxiety and dementia began by examining anxiety. The authors do point out that, however, relatively few research have looked at the relationship between the onset of anxiety in life and the risk of dementia.
Some 2,200 participants had an average age of 76; almost 450 (21 per cent) initially had anxiety. The group has been followed up for more than a decade. At five years, participants were classified as having ‘chronic anxiety’ if their anxiety was ongoing, or ‘new onset anxiety’ if they developed it during the follow-up period.
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The anxiety was measured using a 10-item questionnaire known as the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a tool used in the quick assessment of the level of distress. It indicated that those with chronic anxiety had nearly 2.8 times increased risk of developing dementia, while those who developed it through anxiety during the study period had an increased risk of 3.2 times. On average, it took 10 years from the start of the study period to diagnose dementia.
“The associations between chronic and new anxiety with dementia were higher, and the association was significant in those 70 years and younger,” according to the researchers. Resolution of anxiety at follow-up also reduced the magnitude of risk for dementia to that seen among those who never had anxiety. “These results suggest that anxiety management at the right time might be a viable strategy in reducing the risk of dementia,” according to the researchers.
Such anxiety could increase the risk of dementia through various mechanisms, such as inflammation and cell death. On top of that, individuals with high anxiety are more likely to take up unhealthy behaviors such as low levels of physical activity and smoking, which will worsen the risk even more.
