People who have a negative attitude about ageing may be making their fears a reality.
A recent study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, has found that older individuals who are pessimistic about ageing were significantly more likely to develop dementia, as opposed to their positive peers.
The numbers showed a significant difference between the two mindsets with positive participants being 43.6 per cent less likely to develop dementia over a four-year period than their pessimistic counterparts.
During the study researchers also accounted for other potentially contributing factors such as smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease before reaching this conclusion.
High-risk participants
Even more surprising, the apparent benefits of optimism were even greater on high-risk participants – those carrying a gene linked to dementia development.
The aged care royal commission is examining the difficulties in accessing short-term respite. Source: Getty Images
Among the standard group, having a positive attitude toward ageing had a 19 per cent reduced risk of dementia, compared to a 31 per cent reduced chance in the high-risk group.
The researchers even went as far as to say the benefits of a good attitude could essentially erase the increased chance associated with carrying the risky variant of the gene.
Shifting our views on old age
The findings suggest fighting negative stereotypes about ageing could have broad benefits for public health.
Dementia is the second-leading cause of death of all Australians and in 2016 it became the leading cause of death for Australian females, surpassing heart disease for the first time since the early 20th century.
Kate Freebairn is one Australian who has dementia running within her family history, fuelling her worry of older age.
Her grandmother is one of an estimated 425,416 Australians living with dementia and without a medical breakthrough it is expected to increase to 536,164 by 2025.
“My mum has no quality of life and doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“She is a danger to herself and others,” said Kate. “It is something on my mind I do worry… will it affect my future or my children’s future?.”
“I live with that fear that it could happen to me.”
Ruth Chambers worries about ageing because of her mother’s dementia. She has even considered euthanasia as a way out should she develop dementia in the future.
“My mum has no quality of life and doesn’t know what’s going on,” she said.
“I would hate to be a drain on my family in this way and having always been very independent. I would not like to be dependant on others for everything.”
Considering there are no treatments that can cure dementia, researchers are eager to spot any risk factor that people can actually change.
“Age beliefs tend to be internalised early in life and then remain stable over the lifespan, without interventions,” Becca Levy, one of the authors of the study, wrote.
“Our finding could provide a rationale for a public health campaign to combat the societal sources of negative age beliefs.”
