Marital status and risk of dementia over 18 years: Surprising findings from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center

Widowed, divorced, and never-married older adults had a lower dementia risk, compared to their married counterparts. Unmarried older adults were also at a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, with a pattern of mixed findings for frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and no associations with risk of vascular dementia or mild cognitive impairment. All unmarried groups were at a lower risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. There was some evidence of moderation by age, sex, and referral source. However, stratified analyses showed small differences between groups, and most interactions were not significant, suggesting that the role of marital status in dementia tends to be similar across individuals at different levels of dementia risk due to education, depression, and genetic vulnerability.