Serious infections may do more than make you temporarily ill—they could also increase your risk of developing dementia later in life.
A new study from researchers at the University of Helsinki suggests that severe infections are linked to a higher risk of dementia, even when other health conditions are taken into account.
Dementia is a condition that affects memory, thinking, and daily functioning, and it usually develops slowly over many years.
Previous research has suggested that infections might play a role, but it has been unclear whether this link is simply due to other underlying illnesses that increase the risk of both infections and dementia.
To explore this question, researchers analyzed health data from Finland, looking at more than 62,000 people aged 65 and older who were diagnosed with dementia between 2017 and 2020.
They compared these individuals with over 312,000 similar people who did not have dementia.
The team reviewed hospital records from the previous 20 years to identify diseases that might be linked to dementia.
They found 29 conditions that were strongly associated with an increased risk. Nearly half of the people who developed dementia had experienced at least one of these conditions before their diagnosis.
Among these diseases were two types of infections: urinary tract infections, such as cystitis, and bacterial infections of unknown origin.
Even after adjusting for other health conditions, the link between these infections and dementia remained strong. This suggests that infections themselves may play an independent role in increasing dementia risk.
The researchers also found that infections were even more strongly linked to early-onset dementia, which occurs before the age of 65. In these cases, several types of infections, including pneumonia and dental infections, were associated with a higher risk.
On average, these infections occurred five to six years before a dementia diagnosis.
Since dementia develops gradually over time, this finding suggests that infections might speed up the underlying processes that lead to cognitive decline.
However, the researchers caution that the study does not prove that infections directly cause dementia. Because the study was observational, it cannot rule out the possibility that other unknown factors may be involved.
In addition, the study did not include detailed information about patients’ cognitive health before diagnosis or how their infections were treated.
Despite these limitations, the findings highlight the importance of preventing and properly treating infections, especially in older adults. If future research confirms a causal link, improving infection control could become an important part of reducing dementia risk.
The researchers emphasize that more studies are needed, particularly clinical trials that test whether better infection prevention or treatment can delay or reduce the onset of dementia.
In simple terms, while infections are a normal part of life, severe ones may have longer-term effects on brain health. Taking steps to stay healthy and manage infections promptly could play a role in protecting cognitive function as we age.
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Source: PLOS.
