Middle-aged people who live alone have double the risk of dementia compared with those who are married or have a partner, researchers have said.
There is a "substantial" link between marital status and dementia and having a partner appears to offer protection against mental decline in later life, they said.
A study showed that people who live alone in middle-age and are widowed or divorced have the highest chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
They are three times more likely to develop dementia, as are people who are single at middle-aged but also when they are older.
Researchers studied 1,449 people aged 50 on average and then again when they were between the ages of 65 and 79. They found that people living with a partner or married in mid-life were less likely than all other categories (single, separated or widowed) to have dementia in later life.
clipped from: www.dailyexpress.co.uk