Health

Anxiety could increase the risk of developing dementia, new study says

By Mallika Marshall, MD

July 25, 2024 / 5:40 PM EDT / CBS Boston

Study finds having anxiety can lead to greater risk of dementia

BOSTON - A new study finds having anxiety may have long-term negative effects on the brain.

Researchers followed more than 2,000 older adults in Australia for about 10 years. They found that those with chronic anxiety or new onset anxiety were about three times more likely to develop dementia.

However, people whose anxiety resolved did not have a higher risk. They say the study can't prove that anxiety causes dementia but suggests that treating anxiety could help reduce a person's risk of developing cognitive decline.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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