Are people in relationships less at risk of dementia?

Various studies carried out up until 2016, involving over 800,000 participants, show that individuals who spend their lives alone rather than in a relationship, and widowers, are at a heightened risk of dementia.

Evidence from 15 relevant studies, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, shows that married people were 42% less likely to develop dementia than single people.

Poor physical health among lifelong single people has been suggested by the researchers as a plausible reason for this statistic, although the most recent studies indicated a risk of 24% suggesting that the risk may have decreased over time.

Widowed individuals were revealed to be 20% more likely to develop dementia than married people (however the correlation is weakened by the introduction of educational attainment as a factor). The stress levels, which usually increase with bereavement, are associated with impaired nerve signalling and cognitive abilities which may also have some bearing on the risk percentage for widows/widowers.

Although these findings are purely based on observational studies, the researchers nonetheless consider the finding to be ‘robust’. The likely cause, according to the researchers, is that marriage encourages both partners to live a healthie life with more activeness and a better diet which are associated with a lower risk of dementia.