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 Among nearly 6,000 U.S. seniors followed for two to four years,
those who felt older than their years at the start were 18 percent
more likely to develop cognitive impairment and 29 percent more
likely to develop full-blown dementia, compared with peers who felt
younger.
Study participants who were depressed and didn’t exercise were more
likely to rate themselves as feeling older at the outset, the study
authors note in Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.
That’s in line with past research suggesting a link between
depression and dementia, Yannick Stephan of the University of
Montpellier in France and colleagues wrote.
“If you do things that make you feel young, like exercise, spend
time with friends and family, or enjoy a hobby, it could protect you
from memory decline,” said Eric Vogelsang, a sociology researcher at
California State University in San Bernardino who was not involved
in the study.
“Basically, it’s about healthy living, including having a passion
for life,” he said.
The study team analyzed data from 5,748 adults in the U.S., ages 65
to 98, who initially had no cognitive problems.
About half the participants completed a survey in 2008 asking them
to specify, in years, how old they felt, and the other half
completed it in 2010.
All participants were interviewed and researchers tested their
memory and thinking skills to determine whether they had normal
cognitive function, so-called cognitive impairment without dementia,
or dementia. The same tests were performed at follow-up two to four
years later.
The study team also asked participants if they experienced
depression symptoms, participated in sports or aerobic activities
and whether they had diabetes or a history of smoking.
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Only participants with normal cognitive function at the start of the
study were included in the analysis. At the follow-up, most still
had normal cognitive function, but 979 people (17 percent of the
group) were classified as cognitively impaired and 94 people, just
under 2 percent, had dementia.
Based on the study results, Vogelsang told Reuters Health, “if an
80-year old feels 85 instead 75, that would increase the odds of
getting dementia by about 30 percent.”
The authors noted that negative stereotypes about aging may be
another the reason why people felt older, suggesting that
internalizing these stereotypes could affect cognitive function,
thus increasing the risk of dementia.
The researchers accounted for sex, race and age in their analyses,
but the study did have some limitations.
“They didn’t account for most other health problems other than
dementia,” Vogelsang said. “For example, they didn’t measure for
stress or other physiological problems in the study,” he added. “One
reason that people may feel old is because of stress - and we think
stress is related to dementia.”
Although feeling young is important, Vogelsang cautioned that it may
not always help.
“People may have a premonition for when their mind and body has
begun to deteriorate,” he said. “If so, then being optimistic can
only take them so far.”
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