Feeling lack of purpose, personal growth could be signal of dementia: Study

The feeling that one's life lacks purpose and that there are fewer opportunities for personal growth could be a very early sign of dementia, according to a study.

Researchers found that among older adults, these aspects of psychological wellbeing noticeably declined three to six years before a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, in which one's memory and thinking is affected, yet not to the extent that it interferes with their daily functioning.

Mild cognitive impairment is often seen to precede dementia, in which the symptoms become severe enough to interfere with daily activities.

The researchers, including those at China Agricultural University's Department of Nutrition and Health, said that while there is mounting evidence linking psychological well-being to brain ageing and related disorders, such as dementia, much of it focuses on the aspect of one's sense of purpose and not others, including personal growth.

For the study, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the researchers followed 910 older adults in the US over a period of more than 10 years.

The participants, aged 80 years on average and cognitively intact to begin with, underwent yearly check-ups, including tests of brain function, cognition and psychological well-being.

The authors found that of the 910, about a third (265) developed mild cognitive impairment. Over a third of those 265 (89) went on to develop dementia, they said.

"Compared with (the) participants who remained cognitively intact, those who developed mild cognitive impairment had a lower level of purpose in life beginning 3 years before diagnosis and a lower level of personal growth beginning 6 years before diagnosis," the authors wrote.

They also found that of the individuals studied, over 75 per cent of whom were women, those who developed mild cognitive impairment were more likely to be older, weigh less and have lower levels of psychological well-being, compared to those who remained cognitively intact.

Being an observational study, the authors said that no firm conclusions could be drawn about cause and effect.

Further, even as the processes underlying the link between wellbeing and cognitive function are not well understood, the authors added that the factors could have a two-way relationship.

In other words, they explained that poorer cognition might affect psychological wellbeing and vice versa. Better wellbeing and cognitive function may also share certain protective factors, they suggested.

"Our findings indicate that personal growth and purpose in life may be more cognitively demanding than other components of wellbeing, and therefore may serve as more sensitive indicators of cognitive ageing," the authors wrote.