Proneness to psychological distress is associated with risk of Alzheimer’s disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic stress is associated with hippocampal damage and impaired memory in animals and humans. OBJECTIVE: To examine this relationship with clinical and pathologic data from the Religious Orders Study. METHODS: Older Catholic clergy members underwent annual clinical evaluations, which included clinical classification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and detailed cognitive function testing from which composite measures of global cognition and specific cognitive functions were derived. At the baseline evaluation, participants completed a measure of the tendency to experience psychological distress, a stable personality trait that served as an indicator of susceptibility to negative emotional states across the life span. More than 90% of participants who died underwent a uniform postmortem examination of the brain from which summary measures of AD pathology were derived. The association of distress proneness with incident AD and cognitive decline and with measures of AD pathology was examined in analyses adjusted for selected demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: During a mean of 4.9 years of follow-up, 140 persons developed AD. Those high in distress proneness (90th percentile) had twice the risk of developing AD than those low in distress proneness (10th percentile). Distress proneness was related to decline in episodic memory but not in other cognitive domains, with a >10-fold increase in episodic memory decline in those high in distress proneness compared with those low in the trait. Among those who died, however, distress proneness was not related to common measures of AD pathology. CONCLUSION: Proneness to experience psychological distress is a risk factor for AD, an effect independent of AD pathologic markers such as cortical plaques and tangles.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
One study found high neuroticism associated with nearly tenfold increase in annual rate of episodic-memory decline compared to low, but unrelated to decline in other cognitive domains.
“one study found a high level of neuroticism (solid line) to be associated with a nearly tenfold increase in annual rate of episodic-memory decline compared to a low level of the trait (dotted line) but to be unrelated to decline in other cognitive domains”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Wilson, Evans, et al., 2003
In Wilson et al. (2003), older persons with high neuroticism were nearly twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as those with low neuroticism.
“those with a high level of the trait (solid line) were nearly twice as likely to develop the disease as were those low in the trait (dotted line).”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Wilson, Evans, et al., 2003
Higher neuroticism predicts more rapid cognitive decline.
“Higher neuroticism has also been shown to predict more rapid cognitive decline”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Wilson, Evans, et al., 2003
The association of neuroticism with cognitive decline is especially strong for episodic memory.
“The association of neuroticism with cognitive decline is especially strong for episodic memory”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Wilson, Evans, et al., 2003
Clinical-pathologic studies do not suggest that depressive symptoms or neuroticism are related to dementia-associated pathologies.
“clinical-pathologic studies do not suggest that depressive symptoms or neuroticism are related to the pathologies associated with dementia”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Wilson, Evans, et al., 2003
Cites
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267 · see citing works
Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.81 · Cited by 6,404 · see citing works
Natural history of mild cognitive impairment in older persons
Bennett, D. A., Wilson, R. S., Schneider, J. A., Evans, D. A., Beckett, L. A., Aggarwal, N. T., Barnes, L. L., Fox, J. H., & Bach, J. (2002) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.59.2.198 · Cited by 1,037 · see citing works
Self-citationApolipoprotein E ε4 allele, AD pathology, and the clinical expression of Alzheimer’s disease
Bennett, D. A., Wilson, R. S., Schneider, J. A., Evans, D. A., Aggarwal, N. T., Arnold, S. E., Cochran, E. J., Berry-Kravis, E., & Bienias, J. L. (2003) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000042478.08543.f7 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Insights into the ageing mind: a view from cognitive neuroscience
Hedden, T., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2004) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1323 · Cited by 2,223 · see citing works
An active and socially integrated lifestyle in late life might protect against dementia
Fratiglioni, L., Paillard-Borg, S., & Winblad, B. (2004) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(04)00767-7 · Cited by 2,135 · see citing works
Hertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S., & Lindenberger, U. (2008) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01034.x · Cited by 1,495 · see citing works
Self-citationKuiper, J. S., Zuidersma, M., Oude Voshaar, R. C., Zuidema, S. U., van den Heuvel, E. R., Stolk, R. P., & Smidt, N. (2015) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2015.04.006 · Cited by 1,090 · see citing works
Cognitive impairment in preclinical Alzheimer's disease: a meta-analysis
Bäckman, L., Jones, S., Berger, A.-K., Laukka, E. J., & Small, B. J. (2005) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/0894-4105.19.4.520 · Cited by 735 · see citing works
MahmoudianDehkordi, S., Arnold, M., Nho, K., Ahmad, S., Jia, W., Xie, G., Louie, G., Kueider‐Paisley, A., Moseley, M. A., Thompson, J. W., et al. (2019) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.217 · Cited by 706 · see citing works
Self-citationEndocytosis Is Required for Synaptic Activity-Dependent Release of Amyloid-β In Vivo
Cirrito, J. R., Kang, J.-E., Lee, J., Stewart, F. R., Verges, D. K., Silverio, L. M., Bu, G., Mennerick, S., & Holtzman, D. M. (2008) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2008.02.003 · Cited by 635 · see citing works
Kuiper, J. S., Zuidersma, M., Zuidema, S. U., Burgerhof, J. G. M., Stolk, R. P., Oude Voshaar, R. C., & Smidt, N. (2016) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyw089 · Cited by 301 · see citing works
Kang, J.-E., Cirrito, J. R., Dong, H., Csernansky, J. G., & Holtzman, D. M. (2007) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0700148104 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Vulnerability to stress, anxiety, and development of dementia in old age
Wilson, R. S., Begeny, C. T., Boyle, P. A., Schneider, J. A., & Bennett, D. A. (2011) · The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e31820119da · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Self-citationPersonality and Mortality in Old Age
Wilson, R. S., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Bienias, J. L., Evans, D. A., & Bennett, D. A. (2004) · The Journals of Gerontology: Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/59.3.p110 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of a 14-Day Healthy Longevity Lifestyle Program on Cognition and Brain Function
Small, G. W., Silverman, D. H. S., Siddarth, P., Ercoli, L. M., Miller, K. J., Lavretsky, H., Wright, B. C., Bookheimer, S. Y., Barrio, J. R., & Phelps, M. E. (2006) · The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/01.jgp.0000219279.72210.ca · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Soetanto, A., Wilson, R. S., Talbot, K., Un, A., Schneider, J. A., Sobiesk, M., Kelly, J., Leurgans, S., Bennett, D. A., & Arnold, S. E. (2010) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.48 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Self-citationDuberstein, P. R., Chapman, B. P., Tindle, H. A., Sink, K. M., Bamonti, P., Robbins, J., Jerant, A. F., & Franks, P. (2011) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/a0021377 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Snitz, B. E., Weissfeld, L. A., Cohen, A. D., Lopez, O. L., Nebes, R. D., Aizenstein, H. J., McDade, E., Price, J. C., Mathis, C. A., & Klunk, W. E. (2015) · The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2015.01.008 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Social Isolation and Cognitive Function in Appalachian Older Adults
DiNapoli, E. A., Wu, B., & Scogin, F. (2014) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027512470704 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Franks, K. H., Bransby, L., Saling, M. M., & Pase, M. P. (2021) · Journal of Alzheimer's Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-210094 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Milligan Armstrong, A., Porter, T., Quek, H., White, A., Haynes, J., Jackaman, C., Villemagne, V., Munyard, K., Laws, S. M., Verdile, G., et al. (2021) · Biological Reviews · doi:10.1111/brv.12750 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Personality and resilience to Alzheimer's disease neuropathology: a prospective autopsy study
Terracciano, A., Iacono, D., O’Brien, R. J., Troncoso, J. C., An, Y., Sutin, A. R., Ferrucci, L., Zonderman, A. B., & Resnick, S. M. (2013) · Neurobiology of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2012.08.008 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Meditation for Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Randomized Trial
Wells, R. E., Kerr, C. E., Wolkin, J., Dossett, M., Davis, R. B., Walsh, J., Wall, R. B., Kong, J., Kaptchuk, T., Press, D., et al. (2013) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.12179 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Larouche, E., Hudon, C., & Goulet, S. (2015) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.05.058 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Personality traits prospectively predict verbal fluency in a lifespan sample.
Sutin, A. R., Terracciano, A., Kitner-Triolo, M. H., Uda, M., Schlessinger, D., & Zonderman, A. B. (2011) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/a0024276 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
George, D. R., & Singer, M. E. (2011) · The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181f17f20 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Zhou, Z., Mao, F., Zhang, W., Towne, S. D., Wang, P., & Fang, Y. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16162877 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Udeh-Momoh, C., & Watermeyer, T. (2021) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2021.101459 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Wells, R. E., Kerr, C., Dossett, M. L., Danhauer, S. C., Sohl, S. J., Sachs, B. C., Feeley, J. W., Wolkin, J., Wall, R., Kaptchuk, T., et al. (2019) · Journal of Alzheimer's Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-190191 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Social isolation is linked to classical risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias
Shafighi, K., Villeneuve, S., Rosa Neto, P., Badhwar, A., Poirier, J., Sharma, V., Medina, Y. I., Silveira, P. P., Dube, L., Glahn, D., et al. (2023) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280471 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Buchman, A. S., Yu, L., Wilson, R. S., Shulman, J. M., Boyle, P. A., & Bennett, D. A. (2014) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/1471-2318-14-54 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Prior studies have reported that higher levels of harm avoidance are associated with adverse health consequences in older adults including: incident disability, [6] and late-life cognitive impairments including incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as well as cognitive decline [7,24,25].”
BackgroundSelf-citation
- Authors
- Wilson, R. S., Evans, D. A., Bienias, J. L., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Schneider, J. A., & Bennett, D. A.
- Affiliations
- Rush University Medical Center (US)
- From the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and Departments of Neurological Sciences (Drs. Wilson, Evans, and Bennett), Internal Medicine (Drs. Evans, Bienias, Mendes de Leon, and Schneider), and Psychology (Dr. Wilson), Rush–Presbyterian–St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
- Venue
- Neurology
- Published
- 2003-12-09
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1479-1485
- ISSN
- 0028-3878 (ISSN-L)
- 1526-632X
- OpenAlex
- W2010582215
- Cited by
- 428
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 10.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neurology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (P30-AG 10161, R01 AG1589, P30AG010161)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease, chronic stress, cognitive decline, episodic memory, Alzheimer's disease risk factors, Alzheimer's disease pathology, neurofibrillary tangles, Religious Orders Study, hippocampal lesions
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Cognition, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Risk Factors, Stress, Psychological
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
