By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album

Reviewed by Suzanna Smith, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida

Several friends and acquaintances of mine have recently had a parent diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s been hard on all of them. Although scientists continue to explore new treatments, Alzheimer’s remains a devastating diagnosis for all involved, and one that more and more of us are likely to face in our families.

But what if it was possible to reduce our risk for this disease? As research continues, scientists are beginning to suspect that at least in some cases, the way we live our lives may affect the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s.

A 2010 study followed more than 900 older adults over seven years, assessing their cognitive function and psychological well-being. The researchers focused on sense of purpose in life: that is, how much participants looked positively ahead to the future, believed their lives had meaning, and felt a sense of drive and direction.

After analyzing the results, researchers found that participants with a strong sense of purpose in life were almost two and half times less likely than those whose sense of purpose was weak to have developed Alzheimer’s. This effect persisted even after controlling for other important factors, such as depression, strength of social networks, and chronic medical conditions. And sense of purpose didn’t just protect against Alzheimer’s; it also decreased the chances that participants would develop mild cognitive impairment, which is a loss of mental functioning that sometimes precedes Alzheimer’s disease.

If research continues to bear this out, the public health implications are fascinating. Perhaps one day we will be “prescribing” volunteerism, community involvement, and other goal-directed, positive activities to a generation of older adults, although it’s hard to know if such a recommendation would truly work. In the meantime, these tantalizing findings suggest that finding a way to serve the community and feel needed might be even more important to older people than previously believed.

(Photo credit: UF/IFAS file photo.)

Reference:

Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Barnes, L. L., & Bennett, D. A. (2010). Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(3), 304-310.

(Originally published in a slightly different form as: Church, C. (2010). Sense of purpose in life decreases likelihood of Alzheimer’s. [Radio broadcast episode]. Family Album Radio. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida.)

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