Pessimism Raises Dementia Risk, Study Finds
(Washington, Reuters Health, 4/14/05)

Dr. Yonas Geda of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, and team, reviewed medical data from 3,500 adults who had lived near the clinic between 1962 and 1965, and had taken the psychological test known as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. In 2004, the researchers questioned these participants or family members. The scientists found that those who had scored high for pessimism and/or anxiety were more likely to have developed dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, during the ensuing three or four decades.