Women who worry at greater risk of Alzheimer's

A study has revealed recently that women, who worry, cope poorly with stress and/or experience mood swings in middle age run a higher risk of developing Alzheimer disease later in life.

The study, which was carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy that followed 800 women for nearly 40 years, started in 1968 when 800 women in Gothenburg took a personality test that measured, among other things, their levels of neuroticism and extroversion.

The women in the study stated whether they had experienced long periods of high stress, and underwent memory tests. A follow-up was done in 2006, nearly 40 years later, around one fifth of these women had developed dementia conditions.

In certain instances, shy women who at the same time became easily worried turned out to have the highest increase in risk in the study.

This study is first of its kind that has followed participants from middle age to old age, and it shows the significance that personality may have in the risk of developing Alzheimer disease.

Alzheimer disease is a widespread and common condition that affects many - more than 100,000 people are affected in Sweden alone. The disease is caused by harmful changes to nerve cells in the brain, and principally affects memory. The disease often leads to premature death. It remains unclear what precipitates the disease processes in the brain that eventually lead to Alzheimer disease.

The study will be published in the scientific journal Neurology.