Older people who feel that their life lacks purpose may be more prone to memory loss and thinking problems as they age, a study suggests.
The new study adds to mounting evidence linking psychological well-being to healthy ageing.
This new paper, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, examined long-term data on hundreds of older adults in Illinois in the United States.
Some 910 people were tracked for an average of 14 years to assess whether they developed mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
An annual psychological well-being assessment was conducted on people involved in the study.
These assessments gathered information on purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy and “environmental mastery”.
During the follow-up, some 29% were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment – the stage between an age-related decline in memory and thinking, and dementia.
And among this group, 34% were diagnosed with dementia.
The international team of researchers found that people who developed mild cognitive impairment had a faster decline in psychological well-being compared with people who were “cognitively intact”.
This led to overall lower well-being scores two years before they were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, experts found.
Looking at the different elements of psychological well-being, the researchers found that people who developed mild cognitive impairment were found to lack a purpose in life some three years before diagnosis.
And they had lower levels of personal growth some six years before diagnosis.
“Psychological well-being (specifically purpose in life and personal growth) became significantly lower before mild cognitive impairment diagnosis,” the research team said.
“Reduced psychological well-being may serve as a predictor for impaired cognitive function.
“And post-diagnostic psychological support should be planned for people diagnosed with dementing disorders.” – PA Media/dpa
