A study involving twins suggests that if your sibling has Alzheimer's, this may not have a good effect on your lifespan.
According to a study by researchers in the United States and Sweden, this is true even if you have not developed dementia yourself.
One investigator was surprised by the discovery.
We had expected to see a different outcome. We originally thought that in twins, one with dementia and the other without, the difference in longevity between the two would be similar to the difference we saw between non-relatives," said lead study author Yung Yung.
She led the trial while pursuing her Ph.D. in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The National Institutes of Health-funded study assesses typical lifespan after a dementia diagnosis.
One of the most common questions asked when a family member is diagnosed with dementia is: How much time do we have?This was mentioned by the Korean actor in a press release issued by the University of Southern California.
The study involved a total of 90 identical twins (who share all genes) and 288 fraternal twins from a 40-year database called the Swedish Twin Registry in Sweden.
In this new study, one twin had dementia and the other did not.
Researchers published a Dec. 11 issue in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia'S and Dementia) writes that the average life expectancy after a dementia diagnosis is about 7 years, as seen in other studies.
Among the twins in this study, specifically:
Why does the presence of cognitively impaired siblings shorten a person's lifespan?The research team says it's unclear, although the environment in which siblings grow up together may play a role.
For example, if you develop an unhealthy diet Xi or other Xi habits during childhood, you may increase your chances of heart disease decades later. Doctors already know that heart disease increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and for siblings who don't have Alzheimer's, heart disease may also shorten their lifespan.
We believe that the reason for the reduced life expectancy of people with dementia is that dementia leads to other diseases that affect mortality," said Jang. "Instead, what we are seeing is that the risk of increased mortality is not just due to dementia itself, but also to a range of other factors. "These factors include the patient's own disease.
The "cascade of influencing factors" described above manifests itself early in life.
What happens early in life is very important," said study co-author Margaret Gates, a professor of psychology, gerontology and preventive medicine at the University of Southern California. "It may be that you can't change anything for yourself, but the message to parents should be: make sure your child eats healthy, gets exercise, and educates your child. You're actually providing your child with a lower incidence of dementia, making them less likely to develop dementia after 75 years. ”
More information. For more information about dementia, please refer to the Alzheimer's Association.
*: USC press release, December 11, 2023.
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