Overview
- Researchers identified six indicators tied to later dementia: losing self-confidence, inability to face problems, lack of warmth or affection, feeling constantly nervous or strung-up, dissatisfaction with how tasks are done, and difficulties concentrating.
- Participants meeting a broad midlife depression threshold had a 27% higher dementia risk, while loss of confidence and difficulty coping each correlated with roughly 50% higher risk in later life.
- In the Whitehall II cohort, midlife symptoms were recorded in 1997–1999 and dementia diagnoses were tracked through 2023, with 10.1% of 5,811 participants developing the condition.
- Authors suggest these particular experiences may reduce social engagement and cognitively stimulating activities, potentially eroding cognitive reserve over time.
- The study is observational and drawn largely from British civil servants, so the team calls for replication, including tests in women and ethnic minority groups, before translating the findings into routine practice.