Relationship between marital and parental status and risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Background: There is increasing evidence that social network factors may affect risk of developing dementia. The objective of the present study was to examine the association between marital and parental status separately and their combined effect on the risk of incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: A total of 1707 members of a population-based prospective cohort study aged 65 and over were followed for an average period of 9.5 years. During follow-up, 393 participants were diagnosed with dementia, including 221 of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Age, sex, education, smoking, vascular diseases, depressive symptoms, and stressful negative life events were used as covariates. Results: Cox logistic regression revealed that unmarried have a greater incidence of dementia and AD compared to married. Participants that were childless were also more likely to develop dementia and AD than those who were parents. Examining the combined effects of marital and parental status revealed that the already negative effect of being unmarried was further enhanced if the individuals were also childless. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both marital and parental statuses are associated with risk of dementia and that the effect of marital status need to be examined while taking into account parenthood. Further studies are needed to confirm our finding and to explore the mechanisms underlying this association.