Spouses of people with dementia face up to 74% higher risk (Image AI Generated)
Despite being discouraged from having sex after a loved one's dementia diagnosis, a new large-scale study indicates that may actually raise the likelihood of developing the disease. Researchers said there could be a risk of up to seven times greater for husbands and wives of people with dementia being diagnosed with dementia themselves if they compared with others where the parents do not have dementia. But, when experts say, doesn't imply it's contagious. Rather, common lifestyle factors, stress in caregiving and general health threats may be associated with the higher risk.
The results are from the "Spousal Dementia Exposure and Risk of Dementia" study that was published in JAMA Network Open in July, 2026. The researchers in Taiwan looked at health data of 955,105 married people in Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.
The study showed that:
Researchers believe several factors may contribute to the association.
Over the years, couples get into a routine of consuming shared food and drinks, repeating daily activities, sharing housing conditions, sharing smoking or drinking habits, etc. After many years of eating the same meals, engaging in the same activities, sleeping in the same bed, smoking together, drinking alcohol together, and more, couples have a similar routine. These lifestyle factors are all proven to affect brain function and risk of dementia.
Many people are the principal carers when a person becomes demented, the other person is expected only to do the less difficult tasks. Chronic stress, depression, sleep disturbance and lack of social interaction are all side effects of long-term caregiving that can negatively impact brain health down the road. As more studies are conducted to determine the exact effect caregiving burden has, the study claims that it may be an important factor.
Healthcare professionals note that a person can not catch dementia like a cold or flu. Dementia is a condition or group of conditions and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Apart from age, there are also other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, depression, deafness and social isolation.
These are commonly risk factors common to both partners over the lifespan and are likely responsible for the increased incidence of partners alone triggering one another, that is, "catching" dementia from each other.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Mayo Clinic all suggest there are a few healthy habits that can also reduce the risk of dementia:
Although these measures will not prevent cognitive decline, they can help to maintain cognitive health.
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