Laid back people have 50% lower risk of dementia

People who are relaxed and outgoing are much less likely to develop dementia in their dotage, according to a new study from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Study leader Hui-Xin Wang surveyed more than 500 healthy elderly people over more than six years, and published the results in the January issue of the journal Neurology, revealing that personality traits and lifestyle could be major factors.

The personality questionnaires measured amongst other things, neuroticism – how easily someone gets distressed, and extroversion - or openness to talking to people as well as leisure activities and the richness of their social networks.

During the six years they were studied, 144 people developed dementia.

Among those who were socially isolated, those who were calm and relaxed were 50% less likely to develop dementia than more neurotic individuals who were prone to distress. And among more outgoing extroverts, the dementia risk was also 50% lower for people who were calm compared with those who were prone to distress.

"The good news is, lifestyle factors can be modified as opposed to genetic factors which cannot be controlled. But these are early results, so how exactly mental attitude influences risk for dementia is not clear”, said Wang.

The researchers argued that the ability to handle stress without anxiety could help explain the findings.

"In the past, studies have shown that chronic distress can affect parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus, possibly leading to dementia," Wang said, "but our findings suggest that having a calm and outgoing personality in combination with a socially active lifestyle may decrease the risk of developing dementia even further.

"But these are early results, so how exactly mental attitude influences risk for dementia is not clear."

One theory is that stress and anxiety trigger the release of chemicals which can damage the tissues of the brain.

UK experts said it offered "compelling evidence" of the need to be "socially active throughout life" reports the BBC.