A lack of purpose — and social life — could lead to dementia

Older people who feel that their life lacks purpose may be more likely to experience cognitive decline and later dementia as they age, a study has suggested.
The paper found that wellbeing noticeably declined two to six years before mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to dementia, was diagnosed.
It adds to an increasing pile of research linking psychological wellbeing to cognitive ageing. The paper, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, examined long-term data on hundreds of older adults in Illinois in the United States.
For 14 years, scientists tracked 910 people, with an average age of 79 at the beginning of the study, to assess whether they developed mild cognitive impairment or dementia while conducting an annual psychological wellbeing assessment on them.
The wellbeing assessment measured their feelings of purpose, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy and “environmental mastery”.
The researchers, from China Agricultural University in Beijing and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, described the phenomenon as a vicious cycle, in which those experiencing cognitive decline might see friends less — which may cause a further fall in mental ability.
They said: “Our findings indicate that personal growth and purpose in life may be more cognitively demanding than other components of wellbeing, and therefore may serve as more sensitive indicators of cognitive ageing.
“Moreover, we found that positive relations with others declined rapidly after [a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment]. People with impaired cognitive function may be less likely to engage in social and leisure activities than they were previously, which can cause further deterioration in their relationships with friends or others.”
The research team found that 29 per cent of the participants were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which is the stage between age-related cognitive decline and dementia, at the follow-up. A third of these were diagnosed with dementia.
Dr Rich Oakley, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “There is substantial research evidence that looking after your mental wellbeing and staying socially active throughout your life can help to reduce your risk of developing mild cognitive impairment and dementia later on in life.”
Oakley cautioned that these markers of wellbeing could indicate that someone might go on to experience cognitive impairment, but could not yet be used to predict cognitive decline.
“At this stage it is not clear whether we can use these wellbeing factors as a predictor of mild cognitive impairment and we need research to demonstrate if tackling these factors might change the trajectory of a decline in memory and thinking skills,” he said.“Current research reinforces the importance of mental wellbeing and staying socially active, both in relation to [cognitive impairment] and dementia. With over 1.4 million people set to live with dementia by 2040, understanding the early indicators and risk factors for dementia has never been more important.”
The researchers found that people who developed mild cognitive impairment had a faster decline in psychological wellbeing compared with those who were “cognitively intact”.
When psychological wellbeing was broken down into different facets, people who developed mild cognitive impairment were found to lack a purpose in life three years before diagnosis and had lower levels of personal growth six years before diagnosis.
The research team added: “Psychological wellbeing, specifically purpose in life and personal growth, became significantly lower before [mild cognitive impairment] diagnosis … post-diagnostic psychological support should be planned for people diagnosed with dementing disorders.”
Last month research found that lifestyle factors such as diet could also affect dementia risk. A team at Harvard University examined the link between dementia and processed red meat, including burgers, salami, sausages, bacon and hot dogs.
The study involved 130,000 people, who were tracked for up to 43 years and provided details about their typical diets every two to four years. It found that the more processed red meat people ate, the more likely they were to develop dementia. Researchers said that swapping meat for plant-based proteins such as nuts was a simple way to cut the risk of the disease.