CONNECT WITH US
HealthTech

HealthTech

Chronic stress linked to differences in cognitive decline across certain demographic groups, study finds

Medical Xpress logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Chronic stress linked to differences in cognitive decline across certain demographic groups, study finds

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Chronic stress and perceived social support may play a role in how memory and thinking abilities change with age, according to a new study led by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The study, published recently in Alzheimer's & Dementia, followed 3,873 adults ages 50 and older enrolled in the Health and Aging Brain Study-Health Disparities, or HABS-HD.

Researchers examined whether participants' reported levels of ongoing stress and social support at the beginning of the study were associated with changes over time in attention, memory, language and executive function, which includes skills used to plan, organize and solve problems.

Previous studies have examined stress and social support in relation to cognitive decline. This study looked at both factors and compared their associations across demographic groups.

Higher social support at the start of the study was associated with less decline in attention over time, regardless of sex or race. Women reporting higher chronic stress experienced greater declines in attention and language compared with men, while Hispanic participants reporting higher chronic stress experienced greater memory decline compared with non-Hispanic participants.

The study also showed that social support and stress were independent of each other, meaning strong social support did not offset the association between stress and cognitive decline.

"Our findings suggest that chronic stress and social support may be important factors to consider when we think about healthy brain aging," said Michelle M.


Source link
Related Topics:HealthTech

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.