Anxiety in Middle Age Linked to Dementia in New Study

A study published in BMJ Open reviewed studies on nearly 30,000 people who experienced anxiety between the ages of 30 and 65 to correlate the later development of dementia, reports Newsweek . The researchers found a connection between moderate to severe anxiety and the onset of dementia in later life. It is their belief that the stress response that anxiety causes in the body could make brain cells age faster, activating degenerative changes in the central nervous system. This could subsequently increase a person's vulnerability to dementia, although a direct causal link was not observed. The team also noted it is unclear whether reducing anxiety in middle age would mitigate the risk of dementia, with further investigation needed to understand whether treatment for anxiety, including drugs, talking therapies, and mindfulness-based interventions and meditation practices proven to ease anxiety in midlife could reduce this risk. "What we do know is that changes in the brain can begin more than 10 years before dementia symptoms emerge," says the Alzheimer's Society's Dr. James Pickett. "As well as anxiety, there are other complex mental health issues that can be seen in the early stages of dementia, and we need further research to unpick the relationship between these."