A new study suggests that psychological well-being can be crucial for healthy aging.
Studies on blue areas, regions where people are fluent in older age, suggest that a strong sense of objective is linked to a longer life.
New research from UC Davis indicates that this goal can offer another advantage as people age: a lower risk of dementia.
The study, published in The American Journal of Gariatric Psychiatryfollowed more than 13,000 adults aged 45 and over up to 15 years.
Participants who declared a higher sense of objective were about 28% less likely to develop cognitive disorders, including a slight cognitive alteration and dementia.
The protective effect of having an objective has been observed through racial and ethnic groups. He also remained significant even after taking into account education, depression and Apoe4 gene, which is a risk factor known for Alzheimer’s disease.
The goal of life helps the brain to remain resilient
“Our results show that having a sense helping the brain to remain resilient with age,” said Aliza Wingo, principal author and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavior of UC Davis. “Even for people with a genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a sense of objective was linked to a later start and a lower probability of developing dementia.”
Participants were not specifically questioned about the activities that gave their life objective. Previous studies on aging, however, have found a wide range of activities offering the elderly a sense of life, sometimes called “ikigai”. These include:
- Relations: take care of the family, spend time with grandchildren or support a spouse or friend.
- Work or volunteering: continuous professional work, mentorship or contribution to community causes.
- Spirituality or faith: religious beliefs, spiritual practices or involvement in confessional communities.
- Personal objectives: Continue hobs, learn new skills or set and reach personal milestones.
- Help others: Acts of kindness, philanthropy, care, G or plea.
Unslawing objectives Appearance of cognitive decline
Researchers also found that people with higher goals tended to feel cognitive decline later than those with lower purposes. On average, the delay in the appearance was very modest – about 1.4 months over a period of eight years, after having considered the effects of age, education, depressive symptoms and genetic risk. However, it is significant in relation to current treatments.
“While drugs like LecaneMab and Donanemab can modestly delay the symptoms of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease, they include risks and costs,” said Nicholas C. Howard, first author and public health researcher at UC Davis. “The goal in life is free, safe and accessible. This is something that people can establish by relationships, objectives, significant activities. ”
Study methods and limits
Study participants were part of the study on health and retirement, a national survey funded by the National Institute on Aging. All had normal cognitive health at the start of the study.
The researchers used a seven elements survey of the Ryff measures of psychological well-being. Participants had six possible answers (“strongly agree” to “strongly in disagreement”) for declarations such as: “I am an active person in the realization of the plans that I have established myself” and “I have a sense of orientation and goal in my life”. Their responses were noted and acknowledged to obtain a number of well-being between 1 and 6, with higher values indicating a strong sense of objective in life.
Their cognitive health was followed using a telephone test every two years.
The researchers noted that the study has many forces, including the size of the population studied. However, a key limitation is that, although there has been an association, the study has not proven that higher objective levels caused the lowered dementia.
The results support the role of psychological well-being
However, the results support the idea that psychological well-being plays a key role in healthy aging, said Thomas Wingo, co-author of the study and professor and neurologist at UC Davis Health. Wingo hopes that future studies will explore if objective construction interventions can help prevent dementia.
“What is exciting in this study is that people can be able to” think “of better health. The goal in life is something we can feed,” he said. “It is never too early – or too late – to start thinking about what gives your life.”
Reference: “The purpose of life reduces the risk of cognitive disability in an American population cohort” by Nicholas C. Howard, Ekaterina S. Gerasimov, Thomas S. Wingo and Aliza P. Wingo, June 5, 2025, The American Journal of Gariatric Psychiatry.
DOI: 10.1016 / J. JAGP.2025.05.009
Funding: NIH /National Health InstitutesDepartment of Affairs of Veterans Combators
Never miss a breakthrough: join the Scitechdaily newsletter.
