Home » Health » There Is A Link Between Recurrent Negative Thoughts And The Risk Of Dementia | Press room

There Is A Link Between Recurrent Negative Thoughts And The Risk Of Dementia | Press room

According to a recent study by researchers at UCL University and Inserm, locking yourself in to a continuous pattern of negative thoughts could increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. During this study carried out on people over 55 and published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the researchers found that recurrent negative thoughts (PNR) are associated with subsequent cognitive decline, as well as an accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain that play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers explain that NRPs should be evaluated further to determine if it is a risk factor for dementia, while psychological tools (mindfulness or meditation) should be studied to see if they would help reduce the risk of dementia.

Lead author Dr. Natalie Marchant (UCL Psychiatry Service) says: “Depression and anxiety in people in their forties and in the elderly have already been identified as risk factors for dementia. We recently discovered that certain thought patterns involved in depression and anxiety explain why patients with such disorders are more prone to dementia.

“We hope that our findings can be used to develop strategies to reduce the risk of dementia in these people, simply by helping them to alleviate their negative thoughts.” “

For the study supported by the Alzheimer’s Society, the UCL team of researchers, INSERM and McGill University observed 292 individuals over 55 years of age belonging to the PREVENT-AD cohort, as well as 68 patients from the IMAP + cohort.

Over a two-year period, study participants answered questions focusing on the negative experiences they used to rehash; emphasis has been placed on PNR patterns such as ruminating on past events and worrying about the future. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were also measured in these individuals.

Their cognitive function was assessed by focusing in particular on memory, attention, spatial cognition and language. Among these participants, 113 were also subjected to brain PET scans to measure the deposits of tau and amyloid proteins, responsible for the most common type of dementia – Alzheimer’s disease – when it builds up in the brain.

Researchers have found that people with more pronounced patterns of PNR experience greater cognitive decline over a four-year period, as well as memory impairment (one of the first signs of the disease). ‘Alzheimer’s), and that they were more likely to have tau and amyloid deposits in their brains.

Depression and anxiety have been associated with subsequent cognitive decline, but without deposition of tau or amyloid proteins, suggesting that PNR may be the main reason why depression and anxiety contribute to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

“We believe it is possible to use repetitive negative thoughts as a new risk factor for dementia, as these may uniquely contribute to the development of dementia,” says Dr. Marchant.

Researchers suggest that NRPs may contribute to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease through their impact on indicators of stress, such as high blood pressure.

This hypothesis results from the fact that other studies have shown that physiological stress can promote deposits of tau and amyloid proteins.

Dr. Gaël Chételat (INSERM and University of Caen-Normandy), co-author, adds: “Our thoughts can have a biological impact on our physical health, which can be both positive and negative. Practical mental preparation exercises, such as meditation, may help promote positive mental patterns, while downsizing negative ones.

“It is important to take care of your mental health. It should be a major public health priority, since short-term health and well-being are essential and can potentially have an impact on your risk of dementia. “

The researchers hope they can conclude that lowering PNRs – potentially through mindfulness training or targeted verbal therapy – could therefore reduce the risk of dementia. Dr Marchant and Dr Chételat, as well as other European researchers, are currently working on a large-scale project to see if certain measures, such as meditation, could possibly reduce the risk of dementia by improving mental health in people elderly. *

And Dr. Marchant concludes: “Other studies have shown that depression and anxiety are linked to the risk of dementia, so we expect chronic negative thinking patterns, over an extended period, to increase the risk of dementia. Apparently, the data collected does not indicate that short-term setbacks would increase an individual’s risk of dementia. “

* silversantestudy.eu

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