An international study published in the journal Nature Mental Health has identified three psychological profiles associated with different patterns of cognitive and brain decline in ageing. The study, which analysed more than 1,000 middle-aged and older adults, shows that the specific psychological characteristics of each profile may influence the risk of developing dementia, as well as aspects such as the speed of brain decline and sleep quality. These findings open new perspectives for the design of more personalized prevention strategies.
According to the research team, the results highlight "the need for comprehensive psychological assessments of patients to identify different psychological profiles and thus enable more specific and individually tailored behaviour change strategies to be implemented".
The study is led by David Bartrés-Faz, a researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Institute of Neurosciences ( UBneuro ) of the University of Barcelona. He is also a member of the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute ( IDIBAPS ) and principal researcher at the Institut Guttmann Barcelona Brain Health Initiative ( BBHI ), which aims to find and understand how to maintain the brain's health.
Risk and protective factors for cognitive decline
Recent studies identified psychological characteristics that may be associated with increased risk or protection against cognitive decline, neurodegeneration and clinical dementia. For example, having repetitive negative thoughts, a tendency to experience distress and perceived stress are associated with more risk, while having a sense of purpose in life or self-reflection would be protective factors against such decline.
In this study, conducted on data from more than 1,000 volunteers of the BBHI and the Medit-Ageing international study, the research team examined whether these factors - protective and risk factors - combine in similar psychological profiles in two independent cohorts of middle-aged adults and older people without cognitive impairment.
