Why staying single might be better for your brain

In a world where your relatives or friends nudge you at social gatherings with a gentle, “So, when are you settling down?”, here’s a study that might finally give the unmarried a solid comeback. According to an interesting paper published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, researchers Selin Karakose and Antonio Terracciano from the department of geriatrics, Florida State University College of Medicine, found that staying unmarried—be it never-married, divorced, or widowed—may, actually, reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Yes, you read that right. Being single might just be brain-saving!

The research titled, Marital status and risk of dementia over 18 years: Surprising findings from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center, tracked over 24,000 older adults (14,369 females and 9,738 males in age from 50 to 104 years) over 18 years. Specifically, the never-married had the lowest risk (hazard ratio of 0.60), followed by the divorced (0.66), and widowed (0.73), when compared to those who were married. A hazard ratio is a way to compare the risk of something happening (in this case dementia) between two groups over time. A HR less than 1.0 means the group being studied has a lower risk and vice versa, compared to the reference group.

"Women tend to live longer and tend to participate more in research studies, which may explain the higher proportion of female participants in our sample," Selin Karakose, the study's lead author, tells Fortune India when asked about the 60:40 female-to-male ratio. "Notably, there were small differences between groups, suggesting that the protective role of being unmarried was similar across males and females," elaborates Karakose.

So, what explains this surprising link? For one, the age of dementia diagnosis varied markedly by marital status. "The widowed participants were diagnosed at an older age—on average, 85.6 years—compared to 77.4 for married individuals," Karakose tells Fortune India. “And they also had more severe dementia at the time of diagnosis.”

This raises the question: are unmarried people less likely to be diagnosed simply because there’s no spouse around to notice or report cognitive decline?

"The findings could suggest a delayed diagnosis among unmarried individuals," Karakose acknowledges. "Subtle prodromal changes like memory, personality, and behavior are frequently first reported by spouses. Married individuals may be more likely to seek dementia evaluations and be diagnosed at earlier stages."

But the consistency of the results, even after adjusting for known risk factors like education, genetics, depression, and hypertension, points to something deeper.

And what about ethnicity? With India's large diaspora and growing concerns about dementia care, we asked whether Indian-origin participants were included in the sample. "Unfortunately, we do not have detailed information on sub-ethnic group identification," Karakose admits.

The study did control for genetic vulnerability—specifically the APOE ε4 allele—but did not collect broader family history of dementia. Nor did it capture work status or pension data, which are other factors that could affect cognitive resilience. "The NACC does not provide informationon such factors," she notes, though she points out that the study included several other modifiable risk factors.

Interestingly, marital quality—often overlooked in large-scale studies—may hold the key. "Evidence suggests that individuals who are unhappy in their marriage are more likely to have equal or even worse health outcomes than those who are widowed, divorced, or never married," Karakose says. "In a recent study, we found that on days when participants were more satisfied with their relationships, they reported sharper minds, better memory, and clearer thinking."

Socioeconomic status was another consideration. Participants in the NACC dataset were typically more educated than the general U.S. population, and while income or housing data wasn’t captured, education was used as a proxy. "There was no significant interaction between marital status and education on dementia," she clarifies, suggesting the effect cuts across social strata.

Still, one of the more curious patterns was that unmarried men appeared to benefit slightly more than women. Karakose tempers this. "Despite evidence of moderation by sex, stratified analyses showed small differences, suggesting the protective role of being unmarried was similar across males and females."

So, what does this all mean for the institution of marriage? “Our findings highlight that marriage itself may not be a universally protective factor for health, as traditionally believed,” Karakose says, adding: "We aim to examine the role of relationship quality on cognitive outcomes in future studies."

And the implications aren’t just personal—they’re economic.

According to World Alzheimer Report, dementia-related costs stood at $1.3 trillion in 2019 and are expected to double to $2.8 trillion by 2030. “Given that nearly half of all dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed by addressing modifiable risk factors, it's critical to identify older adults who are vulnerable,” she notes.

But for all the singles out there, the underlying message is clear: while marriage has its joys, staying solo might just help you hold on to those sweet memories a little longer.