Seems to be counter intuitive!
Unfortunately, it appears it was not investigated whether the dementia in widowed participants developed before or after and how it progressed before and after.
"... researchers found that older adults who were divorced or never married had a lower risk of developing dementia over an 18-year period compared to their married peers. Findings suggest that being unmarried may not increase vulnerability to cognitive decline, contrary to long-held beliefs in public health and aging research. ...
More than 24,000 participants without dementia at baseline were enrolled from over 42 Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers across the United States through the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Annual clinical evaluations were conducted by trained clinicians using standardized protocols to assess cognitive function and determine diagnoses of dementia or mild cognitive impairment. ...
Compared to married participants, divorced or never married showed a consistently lower risk of developing dementia over the study period. Dementia diagnoses occurred in 20.1% of the overall sample. Among married participants, 21.9% developed dementia during the study period. Incidence was identical among widowed participants at 21.9% but notably lower for divorced (12.8%) and never-married participants (12.4%). ..."
From the abstract:
"INTRODUCTION
Marital status is a potential risk/protective factor for adverse health outcomes. This study tested whether marital status was associated with dementia risk in older adults.
METHODS
Participants (N = 24,107; Mean age = 71.79) were from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Cox regressions tested the association between baseline marital status and clinically ascertained dementia over up to 18 years of follow-up.
RESULTS
Compared to married participants,
widowed (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.67–0.79),
divorced (HR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.59–0.73), and
never-married participants (HR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.52–0.71) were at lower dementia risk, including for Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
The associations for divorced and never married remained significant accounting for demographic, behavioral, clinical, genetic, referral source, participation, and diagnostic factors. The associations were slightly stronger among professional referrals, males, and relatively younger participants.
DISCUSSION
Unmarried individuals may have a lower risk of dementia compared to married adults. The findings could indicate delayed diagnoses among unmarried individuals or challenge the assumption that marriage protects against dementia.
Highlights
- Widowed, divorced, and never-married older adults had a lower dementia risk, compared to their married counterparts.
- Unmarried older adults were also at a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, with a pattern of mixed findings for frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and no associations with risk of vascular dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
- All unmarried groups were at a lower risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.
- There was some evidence of moderation by age, sex, and referral source. However, stratified analyses showed small differences between groups, and most interactions were not significant, suggesting that the role of marital status in dementia tends to be similar across individuals at different levels of dementia risk due to education, depression, and genetic vulnerability."
Dementia Is More Common Among the Married Than the Unmarried (original news release; PDF file) "Unmarried people are at least 50% less likely to experience cognitive decline."
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