While stress has previously been associated with an array of health problems including high blood pressure and depression, new research has discovered a link between stress and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) — the most common form of MCI.
According to the study’s lead author, Dr. Richard Lipton with Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health Systems, the research “provides strong evidence that perceived stress increases the likelihood that an older person will develop aMCI,” but “fortunately” for those at risk, “perceived stress is a modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment, making it a potential target for treatment.”
In the study, which was published in the journal Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, the researchers examined data on over 500 adults over 70-years-old. Taking gender, depression and education into account, the researchers found that those who were prone to high levels of stress were twice as likely to develop aMCI as those who were not prone to such levels of stress.
Stress levels were measured using a standardized test.
While all of the study’s participants started out dementia-free at the onset of the study, 71 were diagnosed with aMCI by its end. On average, each participant was tracked for 3.6 years.
Keith Fargo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s director of scientific programs and outreach, was quoted by CBS News as having said that the study’s authors did not examine Alzheimer’s disease dementia, but instead “measured new cases” of aMCI – which is “a condition characterized by a decline in memory that is measurable and noticeable but not severe enough to disrupt basic activities of daily living.” He added that for many folks, “aMCI appears to lead up to dementia, but in other people aMCI remains stable or even reverts to normal cognition.”
According to Fargo, who was not related to the study, its “observational” approach “can only tell us whether there is an association between stress and later being diagnosed with aMCI” and not “whether stress or perceived stress cause aMCI.”
In people with Alzheimer’s dementia and their caregivers, symptoms such as anxiety and depression can be particularly debilitating, so stress management may be even more important for them and their caregivers
“In people with Alzheimer’s dementia and their caregivers, symptoms such as anxiety and depression can be particularly debilitating, so stress management may be even more important for them and their caregivers,” Fargo noted.
Perceived stress reflects the daily hassles we all experience, as well as the way we appraise and cope with these events (…) Perceived stress can be altered by mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive-behavioral therapies and stress-reducing drugs. These interventions may postpone or even prevent an individual’s cognitive decline.
The study’s co-author, Dr. Mindy Katz with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was quoted by United Press International as having said that when it comes to perceived stress, “mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive behavioral therapies and stress reducing drugs” might have the ability to “postpone or even prevent an individual’s cognitive decline.”
