Researchers at Newcastle University in England identified a clear link between anxiety, both chronic and new-onset, and an elevated risk of dementia. Their findings indicate that persistent anxiety increases dementia risk by about 2.8 times, while anxiety that first appears during the study raises that risk to roughly 3.2 times. When emotional stress is well managed, the chance of cognitive decline appears to lessen, suggesting a protective effect of emotional balance on brain health. These conclusions were reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (citation: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society).
The study followed 2,132 adults aged between 55 and 85 who were initially healthy. Researchers gathered baseline data on mental health and measured anxiety levels for each participant. Over the course of the study, which involved multiple follow-up assessments approximately every one to three years, they updated information on how long and how intensely anxiety persisted in each individual. This longitudinal approach allowed for a nuanced view of how ongoing versus new anxiety episodes related to later dementia risk.
Results showed that participants experiencing chronic anxiety and those with new-onset anxiety during the study exhibited a 2.8-fold and 3.2-fold higher risk of developing dementia, respectively. Notably, the impact on brain health appeared greatest among individuals under 70 years old. The researchers also observed that achieving emotional balance could be associated with reductions in the likelihood of impaired attention and memory functions, underscoring the potential cognitive benefits of managing anxiety effectively.
Prior work in this field has explored strategies to combat neurodegenerative disease. In this vein, scientists have proposed new approaches to tackling Alzheimer’s disease, including interventions that address emotional well-being as a component of brain health. These evolving ideas reflect a growing recognition that mental health plays a meaningful role in the trajectory of cognitive aging (citation: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society).