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Essay On Dementia Risk

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A new paper suggested that people who never married all their life could have a 42 percent higher risk of developing dementia. The widowed have a 20 percent higher risk, while married people have lower risk, but it was not quantified.
Even if their physical health is taken into account, singles remain at higher risk for the mental ailment, Andrew Sommerlad, a psychiatrist at the University College in London, said. He stressed that the relationship between dementia risk and marriage is not causal, CNN reported.
Not in wearing a wedding ring
The research, published on Tuesday in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, suggested the possible protective effect does not come from wearing a wedding ring. Rather, it could be linked …show more content…

More of a social norm
Sommerlad explained the lower risk to remaining single becoming more of a social norm that the lifestyle differences between married and unmarried people are lessening.
The authors said that other factors, such as social isolation and depression, are also known factors for boosting the risk of dementia which is also linked to being widowed or unmarried. They also said that people who remain single for life may have some cognitive traits that place them at a higher risk for dementia such as communication difficulty or inability to be flexible in their thinking.
When it comes to the higher risk among widowed people compared to divorced ones, the researchers believe that it may be because of bereavement which brings greater stress than divorce. They added that stress could take a harder impact on memory formation and cognitive areas of the brain, ABC reported.
However, Time noted that a person’s marital status is not always by choice. It cited the case of a spouse’s death for widows. The publication also underscored the rapid changes in marriage as an institution since same-sex marriage and live-in arrangements have become more socially acceptable.
Sommerlad said that more studies are needed to have a better understanding of what the single and widowed can do to reduce their risk of dementia. He said that in a society where isolation of seniors is becoming more common, steps might be needed to connect older

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