Vulnerability to stress, anxiety, and development of dementia in old age
Open accessAbstract
Objective To identify the components of the neuroticism trait most responsible for its association with cognitive decline and dementia in old age.Design Longitudinal clinical-pathologic cohort study.Setting Chicago metropolitan area.Participants A total of 785 older persons without dementia completed standard self-report measures of six components of neuroticism and then had annual clinical evaluations for a mean of 3.4 years and brain autopsy in the event of death.Measurements Incidence of clinically diagnosed Alzheimer disease (AD), change in global and specific cognitive functions, and postmortem measures of plaques and tangles, cerebral infarction, and Lewy bodies.Results During follow-up, 94 individuals developed AD. Higher levels of anxiety and vulnerability to stress were associated with increased risk of AD and more rapid decline in global cognition, with no effects for the other four trait components. In analyses of specific cognitive systems, neuroticism subscales were related to decline in episodic memory, working memory, and perceptual speed, but not in semantic memory or visuospatial ability. No component of neuroticism was related to the neuropathologic lesions most commonly associated with late-life dementia.Conclusions Neuroticism's association with late-life dementia mainly reflects vulnerability to stress and anxiety and their correlation with decline in the ability to process and retain new information.
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Vulnerability to stress and higher levels of anxiety are significantly associated with incidence of dementia.
“Vulnerability to stress and higher levels of anxiety are significantly associated with the incidence of dementia [552].”
From Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (2020) · cites this paper as [552]
In non-depressed older adults followed for three years, only higher vulnerability to stress and anxiety were linked to global cognitive decline.
“Elsewhere, increased VS and anxiety were the only neuroticism traits associated with global cognitive decline in non-depressed older adults followed over three years (11).”
From Neuroticism Traits Selectively Impact Long Term Illness Course and Cognitive Decline in Late-Life Depression (2017) · cites this paper as [11]
In older adults without depression, higher total neuroticism predicts greater risk of depression and cognitive decline.
“Total neuroticism is associated with increased risk of depression (10) and cognitive decline (11, 12) in non-depressed older adults”
From Neuroticism Traits Selectively Impact Long Term Illness Course and Cognitive Decline in Late-Life Depression (2017) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Wilson, R. S., Begeny, C. T., Boyle, P. A., Schneider, J. A., & Bennett, D. A.
- Affiliations
- Rush University Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wilson, Robert S.
- Venue
- The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-04
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 327-334
- ISSN
- 1064-7481 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3078621
- OpenAlex
- W2134126124
- Cited by
- 208
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 5.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Illinois Department of Public Health
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG017917, R01AG015819, R01AG024871)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- neuroticism, vulnerability to stress, anxiety, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive decline, older adults, episodic memory, working memory, perceptual speed, amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, Lewy bodies, cerebral infarction, personality traits
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Anxiety, Brain, Cerebral Infarction, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Memory Disorders, Neuropsychological Tests, Neurotic Disorders, Risk Factors, Stress, Psychological, Incidence, Lewy Bodies, Neurofibrillary Tangles, Plaque, Amyloid
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