Study Reinforces Importance of Multipoint Assessments

Study Reinforces Importance of Multipoint Assessments

Women today maintain professional careers, run households, and often take care of children and aging parents at the same time—with little time to unwind. This raises the question of whether the typical stressors faced by women in midlife significantly impact their health. The answer is yes, according to a new study published in BMJ Open last August. The paper, “Common Psychosocial Stressors in Middle-Aged Women Related to Longstanding Distress and Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease: A 38-Year Longitudinal Population Study,” states that longstanding stress among middle-age women may increase their risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in advanced age.

Swedish researchers sought to investigate the correlation of psychological stressors, distress, and the incidence of dementia in a sample of Swedish women. This prospective longitudinal population study examined the mental health and well-being of 800 participants in 1968, and again in 1974, 1980, 1992, 2000, and 2005. At baseline, the research team assessed 18 psychosocial stressors, such as divorce, widowhood, work problems, and illness in a relative. Symptoms of distress were measured according to a standardized question at each study wave.

In the course of follow up, 153 women developed dementia. Interestingly, those participants who presented with the greatest number of psychosocial stressors at baseline measurement experienced a higher incidence of dementia/AD. Furthermore, through the course of reexamination, it was discovered that the correlation between psychosocial stressors and longstanding distress were each independently associated with AD.

The authors say their results demonstrate that typical psychosocial stressors may exert serious negative effects on physiological and psychological health, but that more research is needed to prove this theory and to investigate what types of stress management therapies may mitigate these consequences.

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter

January 2014