Married people get less dementia

Researchers have found that whether dementia comes or not depends on marriage.

According to researchers at Michigan State University in the United States, married people were less at risk of dementia even when they were older. Divorced people, on the other hand, were nearly twice as likely to have dementia as married people; even among those divorced, men were more dangerous than women.

The researchers analyzed data from health and retirement studies (HRS) between 2000 and 2014, and tracked 15,000 men and women over 52 years old in 2000 for 15 years. They were tested for cognitive function every two years.

The researchers divided the participants into two groups: married and unmarried; those who did not marry were again classified into four groups. △ People who are divorced or separated △ People who are dead △ People who have never married △ People living together.

As a result, it was found that when it came to dementia, married people were safer than unmarried people.

Economic conditions only partially affected. Those who divorced or widowed, or who had never married, were at risk of dementia, but it was not important to those living together. Health-related factors, such as chronic illness, also had little impact.

“We’ve been overlooked, but marriage has a huge impact on dementia,” said Professor Hui Liu, who led the study. “If we consider the fact that the life span of the elderly is getting longer and the elderly single are increasing, policymakers should quickly recognize the importance of it.”