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The study of more than 1,800 older Australians found that people who had experienced lifetime trauma were more likely to have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia and performed worse on working memory and executive function tests.

However, stressful events experienced in the previous six months were not associated with poorer cognitive outcomes.

Lead author Dr. Yvonne Leung from ACU's School of Behavioural and Health Sciences said the findings suggest the effects of traumatic experiences could extend well into later life.

"Traumatic experiences across a lifetime, not just recent stress, matter for cognitive health in older age," Leung said.

"Life's hardest experiences can leave a lasting mark on the brain, but our findings suggest that psychological resilience may help and that men and women draw on it in different ways."

Published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, the research found people with higher psychological resilience—the ability to withstand or recover from adversity—performed better on tests of executive function.

It also found associations between trauma, resilience and cognitive function were generally stronger in men than in women.

Leung said men and women can experience and respond to trauma differently, but few studies have explored whether resilience protects cognitive health after adversity or whether its effects differ by sex.

"Resilience is not fixed. It may grow over time through personal experience and social support, which makes it a promising target for supporting healthy cognitive aging," she said.

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