The Little-Known Truth About Dementia Risks Revealed 0 8

Divorce is considered one of the most stressful life events and is often viewed as a factor that can impact long-term health. However, a new study found no compelling link between experiencing divorce and cognitive decline in older age. The results of the study were published in the journal Innovation in Aging (IA).

Researchers analyzed data from two large cohort studies involving 649 older adults with MRI results and 374 individuals with PET scan data. The average age of participants was around 72 years, with 42.5 percent reporting a history of divorce. The analysis accounted for a wide range of factors—age, gender, race and ethnicity, education level, socio-economic conditions in childhood, and family history.

The results showed that individuals with a history of divorce had slightly smaller hippocampal volumes, larger volumes of white matter lesions, and somewhat higher amyloid burden—markers associated with brain aging and dementia risk. However, all identified differences were small, statistically unstable, and did not indicate a significant negative effect of divorce on brain health.

The authors emphasize that the possible differences may reflect not the fact of divorce itself, but the social and economic circumstances accompanying the breakup of relationships, as well as individual perceptions of that experience.