Stress and Memory Loss
Don’t worry, be Happy
A recent study, backed up 20 years of general knowledge, showed a link between stress and memory loss as we age. It got quite a bit of coverage online, but it was not as definitive as it seemed.
Those who most often experienced negative emotions were more than 40 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (mild memory loss associated with the development of Alzheimers Disease) than those who were least prone to these emotions.
This conclusion was based on a study of 1,256 people followed over a 12 year period.
If you are a worrier, don’t start worrying yet. The measurement of stress in real life settings is a far from precise science so do not start worrying over these results. The measurement used in this study seems to me to be it’s weakest point.
They used a six-item measure of neuroticism as an indicator of the tendency to experience psychological distress. asking people a few questions like degree of agreement with such statements as "I am not a worrier," "I often feel tense and jittery," and "I often get angry at the way people treat me."
The study findings are published in the June 12 issue of Neurology.
The original news release related to this study Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center
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