A long-term piece of research of a group of women in Gothenberg, Sweden, recently concluded that repeated periods of stress in middle-age can significantly increase the risk of developing dementia in later life. There are several problems with making sense of this conclusion:-
Firstly, the good news is that the majority of women were not stressed;
Secondly, even amongst those who did say they were stressed, most did not develop dementia;
Thirdly, for those who were overstressed, it’s a little too late to tell them not to get stressed twenty years ago.
The only useful conclusion for the researchers seemed to be that a lot more research needs to be carried out.