Minutes

#686 - Stress & Memory

Wallensten, J., Ljunggren, G., Nager, A., Wachtler, C., Bogdanovic, N., Petrovic, P., & Carlsson, A. C. (2023). Stress, depression, and risk of dementia: A cohort study in the total population between 18 and 65 years old in Region Stockholm. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 15, Article 161. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-023-01308-4

Can long-term stress and depression raise your risk for memory loss later in life? Swedish researchers analyzed health records from over 1 million adults in the Stockholm region. They examined whether chronic stress and depression increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, and whether having both further raises the risk.

Using medical diagnoses recorded in 2012 and 2013, researchers identified people with chronic stress, depression, or both. They tracked new diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment and dementia from 2014 through 2022, adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, diabetes, and heart disease.

Results? Both chronic stress and depression are associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Individuals with depression have more than twice the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Those with chronic stress show a similar increase. Notably, people with both chronic stress and depression show the highest risk: about four times greater for Alzheimer’s disease.

So, what does this mean for you, everyone? How are you managing long-term stress and any symptoms of depression? Controlling our stress and depression at all ages is essential to protecting our cognitive health throughout our lives. Relax, what do you appreciate right now?

Written by Kristin M. Harris, Ph.D.