A new study has found that anxiety in older adults may triple the risk of developing dementia. Researchers observed that new anxiety was associated with a greater likelihood of later dementia in a study of more than 2,000 Australians aged between 55 and 85.
Interestingly, individuals whose anxiety had “resolved”—meaning they no longer experienced anxiety—had the same risk level as those who never reported having anxiety.
“We found that experiencing anxiety at age 70 or younger increased the risk of dementia,” stated Kay Khaing, the lead author of the study and a conjoint lecturer and researcher at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia, as reported by Everyday Health.
An estimated 14% to 17% of people aged 65 and older have an anxiety diagnosis, but experts believe this is a significant undercount due to many missed cases.
The study revealed that the link between anxiety and dementia risk was particularly strong in participants aged 70 and younger. Those with chronic anxiety were four times more likely to develop dementia, and those with new onset anxiety were more than seven times more likely to develop the condition.
