At risk

According to research presented at the 2008 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Chicago, becoming single in midlife through death or divorce dramatically increases risk for dementia in older years. As reported in The New York Times*: ... "people who were living with a spouse or a partner in midlife ran a 50 percent lower risk of developing dementia during their older years than people living alone ... Living alone for your entire adult life doubled risk, but those who had been married and then divorced and remained single in midlife showed three times the risk. Those at greatest risk of developing dementia were people who had lost their partner before middle age and then continued to live as a widow or widower. The study showed that these individuals had a six times greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s than those who were married."
This may mean that the old saying may need to be modified; you know the one: 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

* Well worth a look for the readers' comments. (I wonder if this says something about the NYT readership?)