Severely stressful events and dementia: A study of an elderly Greek demented population

Tsolaki, Magda; Papaliagkas, Vasileios; Kounti, Fotini; Messini, Chaido; Boziki, Marina; Anogianakis, G.; Vlaikidis, Nikolaos

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2009.06.001

Cited by 47 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A parallel study (Tsolaki et al, 2003) on 149 Orthodox monks and nuns from Greek and Cyprus monasteries provided further evidence that less stress might not prevent the appearance of dementia, but it delayed the onset of symptoms. Moreover, after examining a sample of 1271 patients with dementia for a period of 7 years, Tsolaki et al (2010) described how most patients reported a history of stressful events (life-threatening diseases and death of a loved one) before the onset of dementia. Another very interesting work, undertaken by Johansson et al (2010), examined the relationship between self-reported psychological stress in midlife and the development of late-life dementia in a population-based sample of females followed for 35 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic stress as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

Machado¹,

Herrera²,

Pablos³

et al. 2014

Reviews in the Neurosciences

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AbstractThis review aims to point out that chronic stress is able to accelerate the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), proposing the former as a risk factor for the latter. Firstly, in the introduction we describe some human epidemiological studies pointing out the possibility that chronic stress could increase the incidence, or the rate of appearance of AD. Afterwards, we try to justify these epidemiological results with some experimental data. We have reviewed the experiments studying the effect of various stressors on different features in AD animal models. Moreover, we also point out the data obtained on the effect of chronic stress on some processes that are known to be involved in AD, such as inflammation and glucose metabolism. Later, we relate some of the processes known to be involved in aging and AD, such as accumulation of β-amyloid, TAU hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress and impairement of mitochondrial function, emphasizing how they are affected by chronic stress/glucocorticoids and comparing with the description made for these processes in AD. All these data support the idea that chronic stress could be considered a risk factor for AD.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic stress as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

Machado¹,

Herrera²,

Pablos³

et al. 2014

Reviews in the Neurosciences

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The long-term consequences of these more common stressors remain unclear. Epidemiological studies in the elderly with the follow-ups of less than 10 years have reported that history of early parental death,4–6 death of spouse7 and psychosocial risk factors in childhood6 increase the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease (AD). One explanation for the associations is that traumatic experiences may perhaps give rise to long-standing chronic distress many years after the trauma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common psychosocial stressors in middle-aged women related to longstanding distress and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease: a 38-year longitudinal population study

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveTo study the relation among psychosocial stressors, long-standing distress and incidence of dementia, in a sample of women followed from midlife to late life.DesignProspective longitudinal population study.SettingThe analyses originate from the prospective population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden, a representative sample of women examined in 1968 (participation rate 90%) and re-examined in 1974, 1980, 1992, 2000 and 2005.Participants800 women born in 1914, 1918, 1922 and 1930 who were systematically selected for a psychiatric examination at baseline, in 1968.Primary and secondary outcome measures18 psychosocial stressors (eg, divorce, widowhood, work problems and illness in relative) were obtained at baseline. Symptoms of distress were measured according to a standardised question at each study wave. Dementia was diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) criteria based on information from neuropsychiatric examinations, informant interviews, hospital records, and registry data, and measured through the whole study period.ResultsDuring the 37 years of follow-up, 153 women developed dementia (104 of those had Alzheimer's disease (AD)). Number of psychosocial stressors in 1968 was associated (HR, 95% CI) with higher incidence of dementia (1.15, 1.04 to 1.27) and AD (1.20, 1.07 to 1.35) between 1968 and 2005, in multivariate Cox regressions. Number of psychosocial stressors in 1968 was also associated (OR, 95% CI) with distress in 1968 (1.48, 1.32 to 1.67), 1974 (1.31, 1.17 to 1.46), 1980 (1.27, 1.11 to 1.45), 2000 (1.39, 1.14 to 1.70) and 2005 (1.35, 1.02 to 1.79), in multivariate logistic regressions. Number of psychosocial stressors (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33) and long-standing distress (1968–1974–1980) (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.45) were independently associated with AD.ConclusionsOur study shows that common psychosocial stressors may have severe and long-standing physiological and psychological consequences. However, more studies are needed to confirm these results and investigate whether more interventions such as stress management and behavioural therapy should be initiated in individuals who have experienced psychosocial stressors.

show abstract

“…In humans, research has shown that around 70% of individuals suffering from dementia report at least one severe traumatic event before the onset of the disease, as reported by a study conducted at an Dementia Outpatient Clinic in Greece (n = 19271) [10]. In the like way, in a seminal retrospective cohort study including n = 1819093 predominantly male US war veterans, those who had suffered a PTSD (n = 53,155) had a two-fold increased risk of developing dementia compared with their counterparts without PTSD (n = 1279938) [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Childhood Trauma and PTSD Symptoms Increase the Risk of Cognitive Impairment in a Sample of Former Indentured Child Laborers in Old Age

Burri¹,

Maercker²,

Krammer³

et al. 2015

Childhood Adversity and Developmental Effects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A growing body of evidence suggests a link between early childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and higher risk for dementia in old age. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between childhood trauma exposure, PTSD and neurocognitive function in a unique cohort of former indentured Swiss child laborers in their late adulthood. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study ever conducted on former indentured child laborers and the first to investigate the relationship between childhood versus adulthood trauma and cognitive function. According to PTSD symptoms and whether they experienced childhood trauma (CT) or adulthood trauma (AT), participants (n = 96) were categorized as belonging to one of four groups: CT/PTSD+, CT/PTSD-, AT/PTSD+, AT/PTSD-. Information on cognitive function was assessed using the Structured Interview for Diagnosis of Dementia of Alzheimer Type, Multi-infarct Dementia and Dementia of other Etiology according to ICD-10 and DSM-III-R, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and a vocabulary test. Depressive symptoms were investigated as a potential mediator for neurocognitive functioning. Individuals screening positively for PTSD symptoms performed worse on all cognitive tasks compared to healthy individuals, independent of whether they reported childhood or adulthood adversity. When controlling for depressive symptoms, the relationship between PTSD symptoms and poor cognitive function became stronger. Overall, results tentatively indicate that PTSD is accompanied by cognitive deficits which appear to be independent of earlier childhood adversity. Our findings suggest that cognitive deficits in old age may be partly a consequence of PTSD or at least be aggravated by it. However, several study limitations need to considered. Consideration of cognitive deficits when treating PTSD patients and victims of lifespan trauma (even without a diagnosis of a psychiatric condition) is crucial. Furthermore, early intervention may prevent longterm deficits in memory function and development of dementia in adulthood.

show abstract

Severely stressful events and dementia: A study of an elderly Greek demented population

Cited by 47 publications

References 16 publications

Chronic stress as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

Chronic stress as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

Common psychosocial stressors in middle-aged women related to longstanding distress and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease: a 38-year longitudinal population study

Childhood Trauma and PTSD Symptoms Increase the Risk of Cognitive Impairment in a Sample of Former Indentured Child Laborers in Old Age

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About