Anxiety a worrying indicator

ANXIETY symptoms in middle-aged adults may be an indicator of early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, new research shows.

Higher anxiety was found to be related to poor attention and memory, the study by Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health found.

The study examined the link between symptoms of depression and anxiety with memory and thinking in 2657 adults aged between 40 and 70.

Researcher Associate Professor Yen Ying Lim said that higher levels of anxiety were related to the person’s poorer attention spans and memory retention.

“The observation that anxiety symptoms are related to poorer memory, particularly in late-middle-aged adults, suggests that anxiety may also be an indicator of the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease, or that it may be related to the development of dementia in some way,” Professor Lim said.

Little was still known about the causes and impact of Alzheimer’s disease, she said.

“We have a lot to learn and to understand and we don’t have a lot of hard evidence.’’

Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease, is considered the most common cause of dementia.

It’s estimated that 472,000 Australians were living with dementia this year.

But it’s feared that number could rise to 1.1 million by 2058 without a breakthrough in treatment, according to Dementia Australia.

“In the absence of a cure for the disease we have to look at what we can do,’’ Professor Lim said.

Age and family history have been identified as the main risk factors linked to developing dementia.

Until now the only way to lower those risk factors has been by better body and mind health, such as staying mentally active.

Professor Lim said the findings, co-authored by researcher Stephanie Perin and published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, suggested that recognising and dealing with anxiety symptoms as early as possible in midlife could help lower a person’s risk of developing dementia.

“Screening for these symptoms may be a means of identifying people experiencing, or at risk of, cognitive decline,” Professor Lim said. “Anxiety might be related, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be Alzheimer’s, but it’s certainly something important to look at.

“Alzheimer’s is complex and there are many things that can contribute to it.

“More research is needed to understand exactly what is happening in the brain that links depression and anxiety symptoms to cognitive decline and, ultimately, the development of dementia.”