X
theAsianparent Logo
theAsianparent Logo
Product GuideSign in
  • Awards
    • Parents' Choice Awards 2023
  • Pregnancy
    • Due date calculator
    • I'm pregnant
    • Trying To Conceive
    • Labour
    • After birth
    • Baby loss
  • Parenting
    • Parent's Guide
    • Relationship & Sex
  • Child
    • Newborn
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Pre-Schooler
    • Kid
    • Pre-Teen & Teen
  • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diseases-Injuries
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Meal Planner
    • Health
    • Allergies & Conditions
    • Vaccinations
  • Education
    • Pre-School
    • Primary School
    • Secondary School
    • Primary School Directory
  • Lifestyle
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Fitness
    • Contests & promotions
  • News
    • International
    • Health
    • Celebrity
    • Singapore
  • TAP Recommends
  • Shopping
  • Press Releases
  • Project Sidekicks
  • Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Become A Contributor
  • VIP

Your Husband May Drive You Nuts, but He Will Protect You From Getting Dementia: Study

4 min read

50 years of marriage seems like a huge task, and I often wonder how couples stay married for that long. Well, besides love (obviously) I got my answer in a report.

After a meta-analysis (the best type of scientific study) to determine the link between marriage and dementia, researchers concluded that people who stay married are at a lesser risk of developing dementia. 

The study on marriage and dementia

Dr Andrew Sommerlad, a psychiatrist and the lead author of the study conducted this meta-analysis with his colleagues. It is known that marriage has its health benefits. The idea was to find out the relationship between marriage and dementia – do single people suffer more from dementia? How susceptible are widowers compared to married people of the same age? What about those who have divorced?

The team selected 15 studies that had previously tried to study the relationship. These covered over 812,000 participants, principally for Europe, but with representations from countries from all over the world. They studied the prevalence of dementia in singles including divorced or widowed, and married people. For the study, even people who were in a committed unmarried relationship, irrespective of gender heterogeneity were considered as married. The results were not unexpected but were surprising, to say the least.

The results

Lifelong single people were 42% more likely to develop dementia than their married counterparts. Widowers were 20% more likely to develop the condition. Due to an underrepresentation of divorced couples, the difference was not stark. That said, there was a definite difference in the risk of developing the condition between those divorced and those who had lost a spouse.

A reason why marriage slows down dementia

marriage and dementia

Marriage has definite advantages when it comes to leading a healthy life.

The analysis could not study the cause-effect relationship between the two. The researchers, however, feel that there are three main reasons why this must be happening.

1# Married couples look out for each other

According to the experts, married people motivate each other to do better in life. This begins with eating healthy and exercising and transcends to having healthy habits. I believe that caring for someone also decelerates the processes that lead to dementia. And why not, there is someone to talk to, and that keeps the brain engaged. 

This is in line with the earlier findings where single people had a lower life expectancy, are in generally poorer health and may succumb to diseases like cancer faster. 

2# Stress of losing someone accelerates dementia

This is a conjecture but the stress of losing a spouse may lead to a person developing dementia faster. This might be the reason that there is a difference between the risks for widowers and divorced as the stress of getting divorced might not be as great as that of losing a spouse. 

3# Lifelong singles may have other reasons for developing dementia

And this is a good news for those who have not yet been married. The studies cover most of the 20th century. In the first half of the century, marriages were a norm, and most of the people who were unmarried might have had some cognitive impairments, to begin with. Slowly, as staying single became a norm, the risk of developing dementia fell sharply. 

Additional factors like sex also play an important part in protecting married people from developing dementia. 

How to reduce your chances of getting dementia. 

So, to sum it up, to reduce the risk of developing dementia, you need to do these 5 things:

  1. Stay healthy. Eat well, exercise, and have conversations. Arguments and debates count as well, but not fights. 
  2. Have a healthy sex life. It will slow down cognitive impairment, reducing your risk of dementia.
  3. Seek companionship. Marriage is a decision, but staying alone is not the best way to beat dementia. 
  4. Have a support system. Support systems work a bit like marriages, so as long as you have someone to take care of you, motivate you to do good, and keep your mood upbeat, you should be good. That said, it is not a substitute for companionship.
  5. Reduce stress. Stress adds on to the deceleration process. So be careful what you are stressing about!

Mums and dads, the pioneer generation is a hope for us, at 90, if they can stay happily married, we can do it too, right? 

Partner Stories
4 Good Toilet Hygiene Habits for Kids to Have Early in Life
4 Good Toilet Hygiene Habits for Kids to Have Early in Life
Flu in Singapore: Is Your Family Protected?
Flu in Singapore: Is Your Family Protected?
6 Top Ways to Prevent Diaper Rash
6 Top Ways to Prevent Diaper Rash
Experiencing Mood Swings, Irregular Periods and Weight Gain Among Other Things? Here’s What You Need to Know About Hormonal Imbalance
Experiencing Mood Swings, Irregular Periods and Weight Gain Among Other Things? Here’s What You Need to Know About Hormonal Imbalance

Also, read: She was told she would never get pregnant. She just delivered a baby!

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

Anay Bhalerao

  • Home
  • /
  • Health
  • /
  • Your Husband May Drive You Nuts, but He Will Protect You From Getting Dementia: Study
Share:
  • Dealing with dementia

    Dealing with dementia

  • 13 Things Wives Do That Drive Men Crazy

    13 Things Wives Do That Drive Men Crazy

  • Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

    Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

  • I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

    I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

  • Dealing with dementia

    Dealing with dementia

  • 13 Things Wives Do That Drive Men Crazy

    13 Things Wives Do That Drive Men Crazy

  • Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

    Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen Were Forced to Reveal Marriage When They Saw Media Waiting for Them at Rom

  • I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

    I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Education
    • Events
    • Allergies & Conditions
  • Family Occasions
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Child Safety
    • Health
    • Diseases-Injuries
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Money
    • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diet & Weightloss
  • Normal Delivery
    • Cesarean Delivery
    • Behaviour
    • Secondary School
    • Formula Feeding
  • Ages & Stages
    • Latching & Concerns
    • Festivals & Holidays
    • Education
    • Pre-teen & Teen
  • More
    • TAP Community
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Sri-Lanka flag Sri Lanka
  • India flag India
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
  • Australia flag Australia
  • Japan flag Japan
  • Nigeria flag Nigeria
  • Kenya flag Kenya
© Copyright theAsianparent 2023. All rights reserved
About Us|Team|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

theAsianparent heart icon
We’d like to send you notifications for the latest news and updates on baby care and health.