Is divorce good for the brain? Study finds singles have lower risk of dementia

An analysis of data from more than 24,000 older adults found that those who were divorced or never married had a markedly lower risk of dementia than their married and unmarried peers.

Details: Selin Karakose et al, Marital status and risk of dementia over 18 years: Surprising findings from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Centre, Alzheimer's & Dementia (2025). DOI: 10.1002/alz.70072

The study lasted 18 years. Participants were examined annually by physicians within the National Alzheimer's Disease Coordination Programme (USA). None had been diagnosed with dementia at the start of follow-up.

During the follow-up period, dementia developed in 20.1% of participants. This number was 21.9 per cent among those who were married. In comparison, divorced people had only 12.8 per cent and those who had never been married or single had 12.4 per cent.

Even after the scientists took many factors into account - age, gender, health status, lifestyle, heredity, and mode of referral - the link between being unmarried and a reduced risk of dementia persisted. The effect was particularly pronounced for the divorced and never married.

Also, "single" participants were less likely to progress from mild cognitive impairment to full-blown dementia. There is an association between marital status and the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. But for vascular dementia and frontal temporal degeneration, no such correlation has been found.

Why this happens is an open question. Researchers suggest that single people may take more care of themselves, pay attention to nutrition, sleep and activity. It is also possible that it is in marriage that stress accumulates, contributing to the deterioration of brain function.

Thus, marriage is not a universal defence against age-related brain changes. The idea that married life automatically prolongs cognitive health needs to be reconsidered.