Study: Living with a spouse or partner protects against dementia

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Jul 31, 2008, 11:35 GMT

Stockholm - The risk of developing Alzheimer's or dementia is reduced if you live with a spouse or a partner, according to a Swedish study published Thursday. Researcher Krister Hakansson of the Karolinska Institute and Vaxjo University conducted the study using data from a Finnish study where 2,000 people were examined at the age of around 50 and were re- examined 21 years later. The results suggested that 'people living with a spouse or a partner in midlife ran a 50 per cent lower risk of developing dementia than people living alone, even when controlled for other risk factors, such as age,' according to a Karolinska Institute press release. The Finnish study differed from other studies over its follow-up. Often dementia researchers only study individuals in late life. Shared life was seen as helping social and intellectual stimulation. The study indicated that people who had lost their partner before middle age and then continued to live as a widow or widower faced a six times greater risk of developing Alzheimer's compared to married couples. 'This suggests two influencing factors - social and intellectual stimulation and trauma,' said Hakansson of the Karolinska Institute Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society. The results were also presented at the 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2008), currently being held in Chicago, US.

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Study: Living with a spouse or partner protects against dementia

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