Having frequent bad dreams may be an early sign that someone is going to develop Alzheimer's, new research says. A study has found that nightmares can be linked to a risk of dementia - and scientists now think they could be used as a way of identifying the need for treatments to slow down the disease.
The phenomenon is strongest in men - raising the risk fivefold. In women, the number of dementia cases increased by 41%.
Lead author Dr Abidemi Otaiku, of Birmingham University's Centre for Human Brain Health, said: "We've demonstrated for the first time that distressing dreams, or nightmares, can be linked to dementia risk and cognitive decline among healthy adults in the general population. This is important because there are very few risk indicators for dementia that can be identified as early as middle age."
