Single Chinese men at risk of dementia
The elderly experience psychological benefits from deep relationships
Unmarried Chinese men are more likely to suffer from cognitive impairment than those who have wives or are widowed, found an NUS study, the first of its kind to be conducted on an Asian population. This study was first published in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders in late 2014.
The research team, led by Associate Professor Ng Tze Pin from the NUS Department of Psychological Medicine at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, found that men who have never been married have a sixfold likelihood of suffering from cognitive impairment than those who are married. Widowers are only slightly better off, as researchers discovered that they are five times more likely to suffer cognitive impairment than married men.
Married people, in general, may experience less psychological stress and feelings of loneliness due to the emotional support and connectedness from a close companion, the team proposed. The researchers said that the benefits of being in a relationship, where individuals are exposed to more cognitive and social engagement, can protect them from cognitive impairment in late life.
The team arrived at these findings by analysing data from about 2,500 Chinese aged 55 and older from the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study. Participants' mental acuity was tested with the Mini-mental State Examination, performing tasks such as subtracting serials of sevens from 100 and repeating certain phrases.
Healthcare workers armed with this knowledge could target preventative programmes at this at-risk group and delay the onset of dementia, a symptom of accelerated cognitive decline which affects between 3.2 to 6.0 per cent of Singapore's population aged 65 and above.
When examining the data, the team noted that female participants were more actively engaged in social activities such as attending a religious service and visiting a restaurant, and productive activities such as gardening and voluntary work. Existing research has also shown that social engagement'large social networks and frequent participation in social activities'helps deter cognitive impairment. This could explain why the researchers could not find a strong link between marital status and cognitive impairment in women.
"If a woman becomes single or divorced, she's more likely to seek help and solace and comfort. Women show more positive help-seeking behaviour. It applies to emotional, social, physical needs, said Assoc Prof Ng.
The Singapore study is similar to the handful of previous studies on Caucasian populations. It shared the same conclusion as those conducted in three European countries'Finland, Italy and the Netherlands, where the association between marital status and cognitive impairment was significant in elderly men. This differed slightly from surveys conducted in the US and France, which demonstrated that both single men and women suffered from decreased cognitive function.
Currently, there is no cure for dementia and the available drug therapy is only effective for a year or two, Assoc Prof Ng explained. Research has found that if the onset of dementia is delayed by two years, the likelihood of a person reaching that threshold of severe mental decline would be reduced by 20 per cent. The odds go up to 50 per cent for those who delay onset by five years.
