Researchers at the National University of Singapore reported that being married lowers a person’s risk for dementia. People who remained single throughout their lives had a 42 percent higher risk of developing dementia than those who were married. Widowed people had a 20 percent higher dementia risk.
The results suggest that the protective effects of marriage may be due to associated lifestyle factors. For this research, scientists analyzed 15 prior studies that included 812,047 people.
The increased risk from being single was comparable to other dementia risks, including diabetes and high blood pressure.
Experts suspect that the mental stimulation from social interactions associated with marriage confers a protective effect.