Anxiety could increase the risk of developing dementia, research suggests

Common anxiety disorders could triple the risk of dementia, study finds. Image: Shutterstock

Anxiety, whether new or chronic, could be harmful in the long term, according to a new study. The research suggests that this common mental health disorder can significantly increase the risk of dementia. These findings should be taken into account when implementing measures to better treat anxiety, and to do so at an early stage.

Mental health disorders, such as stress and anxiety, are the subject of much scientific research to assess their long-term impact on health, and more specifically on the risk of dementia. And with good reason, since more than 55 million people worldwide have dementia, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common form being Alzheimer's disease. While age, smoking, social isolation and a sedentary lifestyle are all known risk factors, researchers in Australia wanted to assess the impact of anxiety disorders on dementia risk.

Published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, their research is based on data from 2,132 people aged 76 on average, who took part in the Hunter Community study in Australia, with an average follow-up of 10 years. Conducted in three phases, each five years apart, the survey collected data on the participants' health, and measured their anxiety at the start of the study and at the first follow-up. The researchers defined chronic anxiety as anxiety present during the first two phases of the study, new onset anxiety as anxiety present only during the second phase, and resolved anxiety as anxiety present only during the first phase.

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This research reports that the presence of chronic anxiety and new onset anxiety were associated with 2.8- and 3.2-times higher risks of having dementia, respectively. The researchers point out that the risk is even higher in participants who experienced anxiety  before the age of 70. An important detail is that so-called resolved anxiety -- anxiety that disappeared from one phase to the next -- was not associated with an increased risk of dementia, to the extent that similar results were observed in these participants to those of participants with no anxiety at all.

"The findings suggest that anxiety may be a new risk factor to target in the prevention of dementia and also indicate that treating anxiety may reduce this risk," concludes corresponding author, Kay Khaing, of the University of Newcastle, quoted in a news release. Symptoms of dementia include forgetting recent events, disorientation, loss of the sense of time, and difficulty in solving problems, following conversations or performing routine tasks.