Chronic stress in the elderly CAN trigger Alzheimer's disease, it's confirmed

Stress can trigger Alzheimer's disease, it's been claimed

STRESS in later life can trigger Alzheimer's disease, it's been revealed.

A new report claims highly stressed older people are twice as likely to develop mild cognitive impairment such as memory loss - often a prelude to full-blown Alzheimer's disease.

Shockingly, the group most likely to develop 'chronic stress' are less educated women prone to depression.

But there is a silver lining to this cloud: therapy to treat stress can delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer's.

In Britain there are a whopping 850,000 people suffering with dementia - and figures have revealed nearly two thirds of those are women.

It's predicted, within a decade, that number will surpass the one million mark.

 

The number of Brits suffering with Alzheimer's disease is set to hit one million in a decade

A study in the US looked at the connection between chronic stress and "amnestic mild cognitive impairment" (aMCI), the most common type of MCI, which is primarily characterised by memory loss.

Professor Dr Richard Lipton of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York said: "Our study provides strong evidence that perceived stress increases the likelihood that an older person will develop aMCI

"Fortunately, perceived stress is a modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment, making it a potential target for treatment."

Senior associate Mindy Katz added: "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-behavioural therapies and stress-reducing drugs.

 

Therapy to treat stress can delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer's

"These interventions may postpone or even prevent an individual's cognitive decline."

The study - published in Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders - followed 507 people for an average of 3.6 years enrolled in the Einstein Aging Study (EAS).

Stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure chronic stress perceived over the previous month.

In total 71 were diagnosed with aMCI during the study. The study found the greater the participants' stress level, the greater their risk for developing aMCI.

The news comes as it was revealed a daily tipple could provide protection for those in the early stages of the harrowing brain disease. 

A landmark experiment found those who drank the equivalent of 3-4.5 units a day were less likely to die than those who drank only occasionally or in excess.

Modest intake - roughly a large glass of wine, two pints of beer or four whiskies - was associated with a 77 per cent lower risk of death. The ground-breaking research is the latest to point to the healing powers of social drinking.