Divorce → Dementia
The best evidence finds no effect of divorce on dementia.
A meta-analysis of observational studies found no association between divorce and dementia, although lifelong single and widowed people had a higher risk than married people.
Meta-analysis · Moderate · N=15
The two move together in observational data. Nobody has yet tested whether one causes the other.
Mechanism
The authors name no pathway, so why divorce would or would not matter for dementia is not stated here.
Caveats
Divorced adults were compared with married adults in pooled observational studies. Lifelong single people had a relative risk of 1.42 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.90) and widowed people 1.20 (1.02 to 1.41). The divorced group showed no such rise. Not finding an association does not rule out a small one, and the pooled studies cannot show cause.
Effect
No association in divorced people, against a relative risk of 1.42 for lifelong single and 1.20 for widowed people.
Nodes
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Divorce → Dementia.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-divorce-dementia (atlas updated 2026-10-18).
Papers
- Marriage and risk of dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
A Sommerlad, J Ruegger, A Singh-Manoux, G Lewis, G Livingston · 2019 · Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
adults compared with married people, 15 studies