Stress may influence your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published by the British Medical Journal. Researchers tracked 800 women enrolled in the Prospective Population Study of Women for 37 years to investigate the effects of common psychosocial factors, such as divorce, relative’s illness, and job loss. Psychiatric examinations, questionnaires, and other medical assessments linked midlife stressors with late-life dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease.

For more information, see PCRM’s Dietary Guidelines for Alzheimer’s Prevention.

Johansson L, Guo X, Hallstrom T, et al. Common psychosocial stressors in middle-aged women related to longstanding distress and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease: a 38-year longitudinal population study. BMJ Open. 30 September 2013;3:e00314.