長期的消極思維會增大癡呆風險

Persistently engaging in negative thinking patterns may raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease, finds a new UCL-led study.

倫敦大學學院領頭的一項新研究發現，總是採用消極的思維模式可能會提高患阿茲海默症的風險。

In the study of people aged over 55, published in Alzheimer's and Dementia, researchers found 'repetitive negative thinking' (RNT) is linked to subsequent cognitive decline as well as the deposition of harmful brain proteins linked to Alzheimer's.

這項研究發表在《阿茲海默症與癡呆症》，以55歲以上人羣爲調查目標。研究發現，“反覆消極思維”可能會引發日後的認知能力下降以及和阿茲海默症有關的有害腦蛋白的沉積。

Lead author Dr Natalie Marchant (UCL Psychiatry) said: "Depression and anxiety in mid-life and old age are already known to be risk factors for dementia. Here, we found that certain thinking patterns implicated in depression and anxiety could be an underlying reason why people with those disorders are more likely to develop dementia.

該研究的首席作者、倫敦大學學院精神病學的娜塔莉·馬錢特博士說：“我們已經知道，中老年的抑鬱和焦慮是引發癡呆症的風險因素。在這項研究中，我們發現抑鬱症和焦慮症患者常有的某些思維模式可能是這些人更容易患上癡呆症的背後原因。”

"We hope that our findings could be used to develop strategies to lower people's risk of dementia by helping them to reduce their negative thinking patterns."

“我們希望我們的研究結果可以被用來制定策略，通過幫助人們減少消極思維來降低患癡呆症的風險。”

For the Alzheimer's Society-supported study, the research team from UCL, INSERM and McGill University studied 292 people over the age of 55 who were part of the PREVENT-AD cohort study, and a further 68 people from the IMAP+ cohort.

在阿茲海默症學會贊助的這項研究中，來自倫敦大學學院、國家健康與醫學研究院和麥吉爾大學的研究團隊研究了來自預防阿茲海默症隊列研究中的部分研究對象——年齡在55歲以上的292人，還有來自IMAP+隊列研究項目的68人。

Over a period of two years, the study participants responded to questions about how they typically think about negative experiences, focusing on RNT patterns like rumination about the past and worry about the future. The participants also completed measures of depression and anxiety symptoms.

在兩年時間內，研究參與者回答了一些問題，包括他們通常如何看待負面經歷，是否會採用消極思維模式，比如反思過去或對將來感到擔憂。參與者還完成了抑鬱症和焦慮症的症狀測試。

Their cognitive function was assessed, measuring memory, attention, spatial cognition, and language. Some (113) of the participants also underwent PET brain scans, measuring deposits of tau and amyloid, two proteins which cause the most common type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, when they build up in the brain.

研究人員評估了他們的認知能力，測試了記憶力、注意力、空間認知力和語言能力。一些參與者（113人）還接受了PET腦部掃描，測量了陶蛋白和澱粉樣蛋白的沉積物，當這兩種蛋白質在大腦內堆積時，會引發最常見的癡呆症——阿茲海默症。

The researchers found that people who exhibited higher RNT patterns experienced more cognitive decline over a four-year period, and declines in memory (which is among the earlier signs of Alzheimer's disease), and they were more likely to have amyloid and tau deposits in their brain.

研究人員發現，展示出更高水平反覆性消極思維模式的人在四年內經歷了更嚴重的認知衰退和記憶力下降（阿茲海默症的早期徵兆之一），這些人的大腦中也更可能有陶蛋白和澱粉樣蛋白的沉積物。

Depression and anxiety were associated with subsequent cognitive decline but not with either amyloid or tau deposition, suggesting that RNT could be the main reason why depression and anxiety contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk.

抑鬱症和焦慮症與日後的認知能力下降有關，但與陶蛋白和澱粉樣蛋白的沉積物無關，這表明反覆性消極思維可能是抑鬱症和焦慮症引起阿茲海默症風險升高的主要原因。

"We propose that repetitive negative thinking may be a new risk factor for dementia as it could contribute to dementia in a unique way," said Dr Marchant.

馬錢特說：“我們認爲，反覆性消極思維可能是癡呆症的一個新的風險因素，因爲它可能會以一種獨特的方式引發癡呆症。”

The researchers suggest that RNT may contribute to Alzheimer's risk via its impact on indicators of stress such as high blood pressure, as other studies have found that physiological stress can contribute to amyloid and tau deposition.

研究人員指出，反覆性消極思維可能會通過影響高血壓等壓力指標來提高患阿茲海默症的風險。其他研究已經發現，生理壓力會導致陶蛋白和澱粉樣蛋白的沉積。

Co-author Dr Gael Chételat commented: "Our thoughts can have a biological impact on our physical health, which might be positive or negative. Mental training practices such as meditation might help promoting positive- while down-regulating negative-associated mental schemes.

該研究的合著者蓋爾·柴特拉博士評論道：“我們的思維會對我們的身體健康產生生物學影響，可能是正面的也可能是負面的。冥想等心理訓練可能有助於促進積極思維，調節消極的心理機制。”

"Looking after your mental health is important, and it should be a major public health priority, as it's not only important for people's health and well-being in the short term, but it could also impact your eventual risk of dementia."

“關愛自己的心理健康很重要，而且應該被作爲公共健康的關注重點，因爲心理健康不僅在短期內對人的身體健康和幸福很重要，而且還能影響你最終患癡呆症的風險。”