Cynicism Tied with Dementia Risk, Study

Cynical people are at a three-time higher risk of developing dementia than people who find it easy to trust people, researchers find.

The research adds to a number of studies that link personality with disease risk. Previously, a research had shown that certain personality types like distressed personality (personality type-D) is a risk factor for cardiac disease.

Dementia isn't a specific disease, but is a term that describes loss of brain function that can occur due to many reasons. Common symptoms include memory loss and thinking problems.

Previous research has looked into how cynicism affects economy and politics. The present study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland shows that constantly fretting about people's motives could harm mental health.

People who worry about people's ethics are already known to have cardiovascular disease risk.

"These results add to the evidence that people's view on life and personality may have an impact on their health," said study author Anna-Maija Tolppanen, Ph.D., of the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, according to a news release. "Understanding how a personality trait like cynicism affects risk for dementia might provide us with important insights on how to reduce risks for dementia."

The study was based on data from 622 people who were around 71 years of age at the beginning of the study. Participants were given dementia tests and questionnaires that determined their levels of cynicism. People were asked how much they agree/disagree with statements such as "I think most people would lie to get ahead," and "It is safer to trust nobody." Participants were ranked as high, moderate and low cynicists based on their test scores.

Of the 212 people with low cynicism, nine developed dementia during the study follow-up period as compared with 14 people in the high cynicism group.

Researchers found that highly cynical people were three times more likely to develop dementia than other people. The risk remained even after the team accounted for other factors such as high blood pressure and smoking.

The study is published in the journal Neurology and was funded by the University of Eastern Finland, the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the Swedish Society for Medical Research and the Finnish National Graduate School of Clinical Investigation.