Don't worry!
A positive view of old age saves from dementia
A quarter of the world's population is a carrier of the e4 variant of the ApoE gene, which determines a person's predisposition to diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, coronary artery disease, multiple sclerosis, cognitive impairment in old age.
However, only 47% of ApoE e4 carriers develop signs of dementia over time. The reason why the other 54% of carriers in old age do not suffer from dementia is still unknown.
Previously, scientists have found that the optimistic view of older people about their age is interrelated with more developed cognitive abilities, while negative emotions about age in the elderly correlate with deteriorating cognitive abilities (memory, thinking, spatial orientation).
In the works on the causes of dementia, experts pay attention to either circumstances that a person can consciously control (smoking or a healthy lifestyle), or unchangeable factors (race, the presence of certain genes). Doctors from Yale University set a task to determine the influence of a cultural factor, namely the attitude to aging, on the development of the disease.
More than 4,765 elderly people who had no signs of dementia at the beginning of the study participated in the four-year scientific work. 26% of the participants were carriers of the ApoE e4 gene – scientists wanted to understand how the attitude to old age affects the development of dementia in both genetically predisposed people and non-carriers of the ApoE e4 gene. The average age of the elderly at the beginning of the study was 72 years.
The participants' age-related optimism was measured using the ATA (Attitude towards Aging) attitude test. Every two years, to detect signs of dementia, the elderly underwent a remote cognitive ability test TICS (Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status) – a telephone interview, which, in case of problems with legal capacity, a guardian or a social worker helps to pass.
After four years of research, American doctors found that in the group of ApoE e4 carriers with positive beliefs about aging, the risk of developing dementia was 2.7% (the percentage of dementia sufferers from the total number of group participants). In the group of people with negative reviews about old age, the risk was almost twice as high – 6.1%. In general, without taking into account the gene factor, the risk of developing dementia in old optimists is 43.6% lower than in pessimists.
The authors believe that from an early age in different cultures, individuals perceive different age-related beliefs, which are strengthened throughout life. A negative view of aging as you get older can become a source of stress, which causes the progression of dementia, scientists suggest. The researchers urge public organizations and health authorities to pay more attention to promoting a positive attitude to aging.
The study is published in the journal PLoS ONE.
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