Posted on 05/29/2014 1:34:42 PM PDT by BBell
Cynics are three times more likely to develop dementia than those who have faith in humanity, a study has shown.
Believing that others are motivated by selfishness, or that they lie to get what they want, appears to radically increase the risk of cognitive decline in later life.
It could mean that grumpy old men and women should be screened more closely for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Cynicism has previously been linked to health problems such as heart disease, but this is the first time it has been associated with dementia.
“These results add to the evidence that people’s view on life and personality may have an impact on their health,” said Dr. Anna-Maija Tolppanen, the lead researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, whose study is published online in the journal Neurology.
Academics asked nearly 1,500 people with an average age of 71 to fill out a questionnaire to measure their levels of cynicism.
They were asked how much they agreed with statements such as “I think most people would lie to get ahead”, “it is safer to trust nobody” and “most people will use somewhat unfair reasons to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it.”
Those taking part were monitored for eight years, during which time 46 of them were diagnosed with dementia. The academics discovered that those who had scored highly for cynicism were three times more likely to have developed dementia than those with low scores.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
Remember, there’s a cloud in every silver lining. ;)
Actually I’ve become more like Elvis Costello.
I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused.
I am very skeptical of this study’s findings.
And one more thing...the glass is half empty. And there’s probably a crack in it. ;)
Best reply yet.
I believe that there are good people and that there are bad people, but in the long run the good win out.
/johnny
humm, a survey that includes “cynical,” untrusting people who nevertheless willingly provide personal, private information to strangers in white coats. ok. now, what could be wrong with this “study.” could the sampling itself be directly generating the studies’ result?
another very good reason to avoid answering all surveys and polls.
Bull$h!t. It’s equally valid to say that the approach of dementia causes a person to become cynical.
In the long run, we didn’t exist for 13.8 billion years, but now, here we are.
/johnny
Maybe cynics don’t develop dementia so much as grow to match the world around them. It’s self preservation really.
“No matter how cynical I get, it’s impossible to keep up.” - Lily Tomlin
Genius!
Four years as a stockbroker formulated my primary objective in life: to grow old without becoming bitter.
I heard so many stories from bitter retirees who should have been enjoying comfortable retirements, thanks to the wealth they had accumulated: missed opportunities, lousy jobs, lousy bosses, ungrateful kids, etc. They spent too much time dwelling on the past.
As to my ungrateful kids, I simply say "you're going to miss me when I'm gone." lol
Atleast being a cynic or a skeptic will give you a good chance of reaching the age when dementia kicks in.
If the glass is half empty, who stole the other half?
There’s also a .99 correlation between margarine in the house and the divorce rate...
Spurious Correlations:
http://www.tylervigen.com/
(apologies to Henry Kissinger)
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