Medical Researchers Find Possible Links Between Anxiety and Dementia

Senior Living Referral Services was founded by Rick and Denise Guttenberger in 2014. We offer free services to clients to assist them in choosing the best senior care in Oklahoma City.

If any of your family members are suffering from dementia, you can rely on us to help you find the best dementia care in Oklahoma City.

Current Estimate of Dementia Patients

According to the latest reports, an estimate of 5.7 million Americans of all ages have dementia. Out of this number, nearly 5.5 million people are aged 65 years or older. This clearly shows that the senior generation is more susceptible to the memory loss condition.

Further, this number is likely to grow in the future, so medical researchers are trying to identify the possible factors that may lead to dementia.

Links to Anxiety

A study recently conducted by the University of Southern California (USC) found a possible link between anxiety and dementia. According to Andrew Petkus, the study's main author and a postdoctoral research associate of psychology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, anxiety is a chronic disorder that often lasts for a lifetime. Thus it is vital to take a closer look at anxiety.

Petkus, along with his team of other researchers, examined data collected over 28 years by the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study on Aging and the Karolinska Institutet of Sweden. The results of the data show that participants who experienced high levels of anxiety were 48 percent more likely to develop dementia.

Symptoms of Excessive Anxiety Trigger Dementia Onset

Dornsife Margaret Gatz, study co-author and a professor of psychology at USC, also points out that the subjects who experienced the beginnings of dementia had shown extreme symptoms of anxiety.

The team also evaluated the cognitive function of participants who reported higher anxiety levels with those who had lower levels. After the comparison study of the groups, Petkus clarified that those who had high anxiety were 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia than those with lower anxiety.

Stress Hormones Can Damage the Brain

Petkus further explains that an anxious person has higher levels of stress hormones in their body. When these hormone levels are constantly high for a long period of time, it can damage the hippocampus and the frontal cortex of the brain. These areas of the brain are in charge of memory storage and higher levels of thinking.

Even though this brain disease is on rise, the good news is there is no lack of centers that provide excellent dementia care in Oklahoma City.