Researchers may be on the way to finding a way to decrease the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in aging adults, a disorder which affects nearly 500,000 people a year. Although many factors surround the disease, such as diet, and family history, scientists have discovered that treating perceived stress will help to lessen the disease.
According to a report in UPI, scientists have unwrapped a theory that older people with perceived stress are more likely to develop aMCI or amnestic mild cognitive impairment. The study, which was published in the journal Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, indicates that seniors with higher levels of stress are more likely to experience it than those who had no stress.
The condition is treatable, however, and entails everyday stresses that most people experience. Since it appears to be a treatable condition, researchers are confident that “…interventions may postpone or even prevent an individual’s cognitive decline.”
A study conducted with more than 507 elderly adults over age 70 at the Einstein Aging Study in Bronx County, revealed that 71 of them had aMCI. Most symptoms of Alzheimer’s occur in individuals over the age of 60, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, making cognitive impairment more likely as the population ages.
Researchers said since cognitive impairment could be caused by many more obvious factors , such as family history, one’s gender and educational level could also be strong factors contributing to aMCI. These correlations are continuing to be studied, with the hope of finding greater treatment options and possibly create hope for the millions suffering from the affects of cognitive impairment.