We all know that the death of a spouse can have a major impact on older people because of the loss of companionship and support.
Now a new US study has discovered that widowhood can have another profound effect: it can accelerate cognitive decline.
The researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital looked at 260 cognitively unimpaired Americans ages 62 to 89 involved in Harvard’s Ageing Brain Study and their marital status and brain β-amyloid levels – a marker of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Following the group over four years, they found that people who were widowed experienced a sharper cognitive decline than their married counterparts.
But there was no difference between the married group and the unmarried group.
Participants who had high β-amyloid levels and were widowed had the highest risk, declining three times faster than the married group – regardless of whether they were men or women, older or younger or had depression.
The team concludes that losing a spouse could be a previously unknown risk factor for cognitive decline – and there could be an opportunity to develop interventions and resources to target this group.
It makes sense. We know social relationships can be an important buffer against cognitive decline.
Being married provides people with wider social networks and greater emotional support – which is lost in widowhood – and that’s not counting the stress on the brain caused by the loss of a spouse.
If you or someone you know has lost a spouse, there are supports available.
Beyond Blue has a list of national helplines and websites here.
