Married Individuals Face Higher Dementia Risk, Study Finds

A sweeping, long-term study led by Antonio Terracciano of Florida State University, alongside colleagues from the U.S. and France, has uncovered a surprising twist: those tied in matrimony may face a steeper chance of dementia in their later years. Drawing from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC), the research tracked over 24,000 individuals—averaging 71.79 years old—for up to 18 years. Using Cox regression analysis, the team explored how marital status at the outset tied to a clinical dementia diagnosis. Their findings, shared in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, turn conventional wisdom on its head.

The numbers paint a clear picture: compared to the married, the widowed, divorced, and never-married showed a notably lower dementia risk, with hazard ratios of 0.73, 0.66, and 0.60, respectively. Breaking it down by condition, the pattern held for Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, though results wavered for frontotemporal dementia and showed no link to vascular dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Across all unmarried groups, the odds of mild cognitive decline worsening into full-blown dementia were also reduced. Remarkably, these trends stood firm regardless of age, gender, education, genetic predisposition, or depression’s shadow.