A traumatic event in early life can cause Alzheimer's disease later on.
Traumatic events in early life have a lasting impact on the brain
Scientists have discovered that a person who had gone through a horrible experience at a young age - such as a divorce or a death in the family - was more likely to have symptoms of the condition than those who had grown up without such stress.
Experts took samples from the spinal fluid of participants and discovered that those who had been subjected to more trauma had a greater number of proteins floating around the body that are associated with Alzheimer's.
The team noted that this was only the case if the stressful events happened in either childhood or middle age.
Carol Opdebeeck, a senior lecturer in psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, wrote in The Conversation: "Stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or divorce, put a person at great risk of developing dementia in later life."
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