Association of Stressful Life Events with Dementia in North Indian Populations.

Abstract

Chronic stress is known to be associated with dementia. This study looked for major stressors and their associations with dementia in the elderly demented population. Case group consisted of 60 subjects (age group 55-75 years; M:F = 7:3) with postscreening for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's type dementia. Control group consisted of two subgroups: related (N = 60) and not-related (N = 60) subjects screened and confirmed not to be suffering from cognitive impairment. Sociodemographic variables were collected using a personal data sheet. The severity of cognitive impairment was assessed using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale. Subjects with a CDR score of range 0.5-1 were included in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's type dementia. Stressful life events were evaluated using the Presumptive Stressful Life Event Scale (PSLES). A present stress level of caregivers was evaluated using Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Assessed stress level scores were compared and validated with serum and plasma levels of cortisol and ACTH respectively. Different groups exhibited distinct PSLES and DASS scores with statistical significance. It was also observed that Cortisol and ACTH levels were elevated in case group as compared with that of both sub-group controls. The outcome measures of this study projected that neural degeneration leading to mild cognitive impairment and dementia may be due to accumulative cortisol hormone associated with stressful life events.