Posted on 04/14/2025 3:06:43 PM PDT by nickcarraway
new study led by researchers at Florida State University somewhat shockingly suggests that married people are more likely to develop dementia.
Would you believe me if I told you that staying single or ending your marriage could lower your odds of getting dementia?
A 2019 study from America found that unmarried people had “significantly higher odds of developing dementia over the study period than their married counterparts”.
Indeed, married people are generally thought to have better health. Studies have shown that they are at reduced risk of having heart disease and stroke and they tend to live longer. So why did the new study come up with this surprising finding? Let’s take a closer look.
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The researchers analysed data from more than 24,000 Americans without dementia at the start of the study. Participants were tracked for up to 18 years. Crucially, the team compared dementia rates across marital groups: married, divorced, widowed and never-married.
At first, it looked as though all three unmarried groups had a reduced risk of dementia compared with the married group. But, after accounting for other factors that could influence the results such as smoking and depression, only divorced and never-married people had a lower risk of dementia.
Differences were also seen depending on the type of dementia. For example, being unmarried was consistently linked with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. But it was not shown for vascular dementia – a rarer form of the condition.
The researchers also found that divorced or never-married people were less likely to progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia and that people who became widowed during the study had a lower risk of dementia.
Possible explanations of the link between marriage and dementia Married people might be diagnosed earlier because they have spouses who notice memory problems and push for a doctor’s visit. This could make dementia look more common in married people – even if it’s not.
This is called ascertainment bias — when data is skewed because of who gets diagnosed or noticed more easily. However, the evidence of this was not strong. All participants had annual visits from a doctor, who could be thought of as a proxy partner who would spot early signs of dementia in the participant.
Perhaps it was the case that the sample of people used, from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) study, was not representative of the wider population. Specifically, the sample showed low levels of ethnic and income diversity. Also, nearly 64 percent of the participants were married. This may affect how these unexpected findings translate to the wider world. They could just have been unique to NACC participants.
However, it is more likely that these findings highlight just how complex the effects of marital disruptions, transitions and choices on brain health really are. Being married is by no means an established protective factor for dementia, with an earlier meta-analysis (a study of studies) showing mixed results.
The new study from Florida State University uses one of the biggest samples to date to examine this issue, and carries a good deal of weight. It highlights that assumptions based on previous research that widowhood and divorce are very stressful life events that can trigger Alzheimer’s disease or that unmarried people are socially isolated and therefore may be at higher risk of dementia, may not always be correct.
Relationship dynamics are by no means straightforward. As mentioned in the paper, such dynamics may “provide a more nuanced understanding than a simple binary effect”. Factors such as marriage quality, levels of satisfaction after divorce, cultural considerations, or the sociability of single people compared with coupled ones may help explain these seemingly contradictory results.
This study challenges the idea that marriage is automatically good for brain health. Instead, it suggests the effect of relationships on dementia is far more complex. What matters might not be your relationship status but how supported, connected and fulfilled you feel.
Avinash Chandra is a Postdoctoral Researcher, Neurology, Queen Mary University of London.
That’s because we’re driving each other CRAAAAAAZY!!!
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman, she gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind
Say A
Say M
Say E
Say R
Say I
You C
Say A
N
American woman gonna mess your mind
Mmm, American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman
Stay away from me
American woman
Mama, let me be
Don’t come hangin’ round my door
I don’t wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin’ old with you
Now, woman
I said, stay away
American woman
Listen what I say
American woman
Get away from me
American women
Mama, let me be
Don’t come knockin’ round my door
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now, woman
I said, get away
American woman
Listen what I say
American woman
Said, get away
American women
Listen what I say
Don’t come hangin’ round my door
Don’t wanna see your face no more
I don’t need your war machines
I don’t need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now, woman
Get away from me
American woman
Mama, let me be
Go, gotta get away
Gotta get away now, go, go, go
I’m gonna leave you, woman
Gonna leave you, woman
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
You’re no good for me, I’m no good for you
Gonna look you right in the eye, tell you what I’m gonna do
You know I’m gonna leave
You know I’m gonna go, you know I’m gonna leave
You know I’m gonna go, woman
I’m gonna leave, woman
Goodbye, American woman
Goodbye, American chick
That can’t be right. Everybody knows insanity is hereditary and you get it from your kids.
I personally know of two people who died of dementia, who were widowed for many years and got it when they were in their late 80s.
OTOH, I also know of 2 people who have it now, and are married.
Studies can be made to say ANYTHING!
When Nixon was President, his daughters were fans of the Guess Who, and on their request he had the band perform at the White House. Asked what their big hit was, they said "American Woman", and Nixon, thinking it must be a song about how wonderful American women are, asked them to play it.
Hilarity ensued.
What about married women who get dementia? Did their husbands drive them nuts?
Guess who wrote that. :-)
I’ve been married twice.
I think.
It is a commonly held myth that The Guess Who were invited to play at the White House on July 17, 1970, shortly after the song's release. Because of its perceived anti-American lyrics, Pat Nixon, the wife of President Richard Nixon, asked that they not play "American Woman".[14]Oh, well.
I’m married, but I love the old joke:
“They say that married men live longer than single men. But it only seems longer.”
Anyone care to step into that beartrap for me?
Did they adjust for age because I think studies show married live longer. If you live longer you may be more likely to get dementia.
Studies are generally only taking a snippet of information with small areas of research which are generally supposed to be as well circumscribed as possible
To make sweeping generalization or extrapolation of small bits of data is the job of our sensationalistic money driven media. Need those mortgage paying eyeballs to view the “reports”
Loving couples are supposed to forget about the wrongs their partner has committed.
Some men are idiots and terrible, some women are too. The smearing and condemnations of one over the other is puerile and uncalled for.
SPOT ON!
And the vast majority of ALL of the medical studies, that keep getting posted here, are garbage, just silly, or both.
That's the answer to the question.
Honey...I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m leaving you.
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