The threat of developing dementia is a worry for many of us as we get older, but new research has revealed that changing your attitude could be crucial if you want to reduce your risk.
New research by scientists at Yale University in the US has shown that having a positive attitude to getting older could reduce your risk of developing the dreaded cognitive condition.
In the study, published in the journal PLOS One, the team explored whether cultural beliefs about ageing had an effect on dementia risk among almost 5,000 older people with an average age of 72.
At the start of study, none of the participants had dementia but a quarter were found to carry a gene variant known to be a high risk factor for the disease.
Four years later, researchers found that the gene carriers with positive beliefs about ageing had a 2.7% chance of developing dementia, while those with a more negative approach had almost double that risk: 6.1%.
‘We found that positive age beliefs can reduce the risk of one of the most established genetic risk factors of dementia,’ said lead author Becca Levy.
‘This makes a case for implementing a public health campaign against ageism and negative age beliefs.’
Speaking about the findings to The Telegraph, Dr Doug Brown of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘This study suggests that people with a positive outlook on ageing are less likely to develop dementia.
‘However, it is likely to be more complex than this and it is unclear whether healthy lifestyle habits motivated by a positive outlook on ageing were actually responsible for their reduced risk of developing dementia.
‘What we do know is that following a healthy diet, enjoying an active social life, not smoking and doing regular exercise are all positive ways that we can all try and reduce our risk of dementia in later life.’
