People who say their health is poor are far more likely to get Alzheimer's.
A new study published in the journal Neurology found that self-assessment of health is predictor of dementia.
The survey asked 8,169 participants age 65 and older about their health and how they rated it. During the next seven years, more than 600 of them developed some form of dementia.
For those who rated their health as “poor,” the risk of dementia was 70-percent higher than in those who rated their health as “good,” the study showed.
“Having people rate their own health may be a simple tool for doctors to determine a person’s risk of dementia, especially for people with no symptoms or memory problems,” said researcher Christophe Tzourio, of the University of Bordeaux in France.
“We know that having a large social network and social activities are associated with a decreased risk of dementia,” Tzourio said. “Therefore, it’s possible that rating one’s health as poor might be associated with behaviors that limit social interaction and, in turn, accelerate the dementia process.”
It’s been reported in other studies that people who rated their health as “poor” also faced increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.