Sense of Purpose Staves Off Alzheimer's from MedPage Today

By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Patients who maintain a greater sense of purpose in life as they age may have greater protection against Alzheimer's disease, researchers have found.

Those with a purpose had more than a 50% reduced risk of the disease (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.69, P<0.001), Patricia A. Boyle, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and colleagues reported in the March Archives of General Psychiatry.

"The tendency to derive meaning from life's experiences and to possess a sense of intentionality and goal directedness are associated with a substantially reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and a less rapid rate of cognitive decline in older age," the researchers wrote.

Some data have suggested that psychological factors such as extraversion and neuroticism, as well as experiential factors including social networks, are associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease.
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