If you are stressed and are running in middle age then you can be a victim of dementia. University of Gothenburg, Sweden, conducted a research that stated the above findings.

The study had monitored several women for about 35 years and it was noticed that stress led to developing dementia.

It was in 1968 when a representative sample of women was examined for the first time. These women were all aged between 38 and 60, the examinations were again done in 1974, 1980, 1992 and 2000.

About 1,415 women answered a survey based on a question about psychological stress.

Lena Johansson, a researcher from the Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit at the Sahlgrenska Academy’s Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry at the University of Gothenburg said, "Stress was defined as a sense of irritation, tension, nervousness, anxiety, fear or sleeping problems lasting a month or more due to work, health, family or other problems."

About 161 participants developed dementia during the 35 years of the study.

In women who stated that they had repeated bouts of stress had 65 per cent higher risk of developing dementia as compared to women in middle age who did not experience stress.

It was stated that this is the first study to show that stress in middle age can lead to dementia in old age.