October 1, 2014

expert reaction to midlife personality and Alzheimer’s

Researchers have published a study in the journal Neurology, suggesting a link between levels of stress in women and development of Alzheimer’s in later life.

Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research, Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:

“Observational studies like this can be important for picking out health trends, but this type of research is not able to tell us about cause and effect. This long-term study adds to existing evidence linking stress to an increased risk of dementia, but more research is needed to understand the underlying reasons behind this link, as well as the impact of some of the personality traits highlighted here. There are many reasons for acting to reduce people’s stress levels, but controlled trials would be needed to know whether alleviating this type of stress could help prevent Alzheimer’s in later life.

“Understanding the factors that affect our risk of Alzheimer’s could provide new clues for preventing the disease, which is why investment in research is crucial. As the most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer’s affects around half a million people in the UK and with that number set to increase, we urgently need ways to prevent the disease.”

Dr Clare Walton, Research Manager, Alzheimer’s Society, said:

“We all have moments when we feel stressed or worried, but stressed women shouldn’t take this research to mean they’re necessarily at higher risk of dementia.  This research doesn’t show that neuroticism alone increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in women, but it does suggest that personality traits like neuroticism are linked to the experience of long term stress.

“This study adds to the mounting evidence that long term stress contributes to the development of dementia but we need more research to untangle whether personality also plays a role. While we can’t control all the sources of everyday stress, we can develop coping strategies to help us manage stress better. We’re funding research to explore whether stress coping strategies can help people reduce their risk of dementia.”

‘Midlife personality and risk of Alzheimer disease and distress’ by Johansson et al. published in Neurology on Wednesday 1^st October. 

Declared interests

None declared