{"id":56813,"date":"2022-06-03T08:58:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T13:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=56813"},"modified":"2024-04-06T06:27:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T06:27:50","slug":"study-chronic-stress-could-increase-risk-of-dementia","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/study-chronic-stress-could-increase-risk-of-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Chronic Stress Could Increase Risk of Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Woman<\/a>Chronic\u00a0stress<\/a>\u00a0poses serious risks to many mental health conditions, including\u00a0depression<\/a>, but it can also increase the risk of\u00a0dementia<\/a>, according to a study published in\u00a0Current Opinion in Psychiatry<\/em>.<\/p>\n

According to the American Psychological Association\u2019s 2014 Stress in America survey, the average American ranks their stress level as 4.9 on a 10-point scale. Thirty-two percent report being sad, depressed, or\u00a0overwhelmed<\/a>. Money was the most common source of stress, with 64% of respondents ranking this issue as \u201cvery\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d important. Seventy-two percent of respondents report at least some money stress, and 22% report extreme\u00a0financial stress<\/a>. Other common sources of stress included work, the economy, family responsibilities, and health.<\/p>\n

STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To explore the effects of stress on brain structure and function, researchers looked at a number of recent studies examining\u00a0fear<\/a>,\u00a0anxiety<\/a>, and stress in animals. The review also included studies involving brain scans exploring the effects of stress on humans.<\/p>\n

The team found that long-term, chronic stress impacted the brain\u2019s\u00a0hippocampus<\/a>, prefrontal cortex, and\u00a0amygdala<\/a>. In chronically stressed humans and animals, the amygdala\u2014which is implicated in emotional regulation\u2014became overactive, while the prefrontal cortex\u2014which plays a key role in cognition and emotional regulation\u2014became less active.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Damage to these brain regions can lead to a number of\u00a0mental health concerns<\/a>, including depression and dementia. The researchers note these issues only appeared with chronic stress, rather than everyday stress associated with studying for a test or working a long day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

IS IT POSSIBLE TO REVERSE STRESS-RELATED BRAIN DAMAGE?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The study\u2019s authors suggest more research is needed to assess whether interventions such as therapy, stress reduction, or\u00a0antidepressants<\/a>\u00a0can reverse brain damage associated with chronic stress. Some research shows antidepressants and physical therapy can partially reduce stress-related brain damage, with some evidence suggesting therapy may also help. In 2015, another\u00a0study linked transference-focused psychotherapy<\/a>\u00a0with brain changes in people with\u00a0borderline personality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Contributed by Zawn Villines, GoodTherapy.org Correspondent<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Original post-GoodTherapy.org.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mah, L., Szabuniewicz, C., & Fiocco, A. J. (2016). Can anxiety damage the brain?\u00a0Current Opinion in Psychiatry,<\/em>\u00a029<\/em>(1), 56-63. doi:10.1097\/yco.0000000000000223<\/li>\n
  2. Stress in America: Paying with our health. (2015, February 4). Retrieved from http:\/\/www.apa.org\/news\/press\/releases\/stress\/2014\/stress-report.pdf<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Chronic\u00a0stress\u00a0poses serious risks to many mental health conditions, including\u00a0depression, but it can also increase the risk of\u00a0dementia, according to a study published in\u00a0Current Opinion in Psychiatry. According to the American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":56815,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[139],"tags":[136,143,155,120,147,175,151],"class_list":["post-56813","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-life-blog","tag-ais","tag-mental-health","tag-research","tag-stress","tag-stress-management","tag-stress-reduction","tag-workplace-stress","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStudy: Chronic Stress Could Increase Risk of Dementia - The American Institute of Stress<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/study-chronic-stress-could-increase-risk-of-dementia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Study: Chronic Stress Could Increase Risk of Dementia - The American Institute of Stress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chronic\u00a0stress\u00a0poses serious risks to many mental health conditions, including\u00a0depression, but it can also increase the risk of\u00a0dementia, according to a study published in\u00a0Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 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