Put your mind to the test!
Dementia, which slowly erodes memory, reasoning, judgment and language skills, affects over 6 million Americans and accounts for more than 100,000 deaths annually.
There’s no way of knowing for sure who will develop dementia — factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity raise your risk.
Now, researchers from UC Davis have determined that one particular trait can lower your risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia by 28% — a higher sense of purpose.
They used a seven-item survey from Ryff Measures of Psychological Well-being to determine who is giving their life special meaning.
“Our findings show that having a sense of purpose helps the brain stay resilient with age,” said Aliza Wingo, senior study author and professor in the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
“Even for people with a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease, sense of purpose was linked to a later onset and lower likelihood of developing dementia.”
Wingo’s team followed over 13,000 adults aged 45 and older for up to 15 years.
They tracked participants’ cognitive health every two years with a telephone-based test.
Those with a higher purpose tended to avoid cognitive decline or experience it later — about 1.4 months later over eight years — than people without this characteristic.
The researchers observed that the protective effect remained significant even after accounting for race, ethnicity, education, depression and the APOE4 gene, a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia.
“While medications like lecanemab and donanemab can modestly delay symptoms of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease, they come with risks and costs,” said Nicholas C. Howard, first author of the study and public health researcher at UC Davis.
“Purpose in life is free, safe and accessible,” Howard added. “It’s something people can build through relationships, goals and meaningful activities.”
The quiz that participants took is a riff on Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being, an 18- or 42-item questionnaire that measures self-acceptance, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relationships, life purpose and autonomy.
Statements included “I am an active person in carrying out the plans I set for myself” and “I have a sense of direction and purpose in my life.”
Participants rated themselves from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”
In discussing their results, the researchers referenced “ikigai,” a Japanese concept that translates to a “reason for being.”
People might find purpose in nurturing familial relationships, working professionally, volunteering, mentoring, practicing their religious or spiritual beliefs, pursuing hobbies, learning new skills and helping others.
The findings were published in the October edition of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
“What’s exciting about this study is that people may be able to ‘think’ themselves into better health,” said Thomas Wingo, a co-author of the study and a professor and neurologist at UC Davis Health.
“Purpose in life is something we can nurture,” he added. “It’s never too early — or too late — to start thinking about what gives your life meaning.”
