Another investigation found that repetitive negative thinking in later life was connected to cognitive decrease and greater deposits of two destructive proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s disease.

“We propose that repetitive negative thinking maybe a new risk factor for dementia,” said lead author Dr. Natalie Marchant, a psychiatrist and senior research individual in the department of mental health at University College London, in an announcement.

Negative thinking behaviors, for example, rumination about the past and stress over what’s to come were estimated in more than 350 individuals beyond 55 two years. About 33% of the participants additionally experienced a PET (positron emission tomography) brain scan to measure deposits of tau and beta-amyloid, two proteins which cause Alzheimer’s disease, the most widely recognized kind of dementia.

The scans indicated that individuals who invested more time thinking negatively had more tau and beta-amyloid development, more terrible memory, and more prominent cognitive decrease over four years contrasted with individuals who were not pessimists.

The study likewise tested for levels of anxiety and depression and discovered a more noteworthy cognitive decrease in discouraged and anxious individuals, which reverberations earlier research.

Yet, deposits of tau and amyloid didn’t increment in the already discouraged and anxious individuals, leading specialists to suspect repeated negative thinking might be the fundamental motivation behind why depression and anxiety add to Alzheimer’s disease.

“Taken alongside other studies, which link depression and anxiety with dementia risk, we expect that chronic negative thinking patterns over a long period could increase the risk of dementia,” Marchant said.

“This is the first study showing a biological relationship between repetitive negative thinking and Alzheimer’s pathology, and gives physicians a more precise way to assess risk and offer more personally-tailored interventions,” said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, founder of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical Center, who was not involved in the study.

“Many people at risk are unaware of the specific negative impact of worry and rumination directly on the brain,” said Isaacson, who is also a trustee of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation, which funds research to better understand and alleviate age-related cognitive decline.

“This study is important and will change the way I care for my patients at risk.”