Apathy and indifference to everything lead to premature death. Such a conclusion, scientists have made, observing the inhabitants of nursing homes, according to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The experiment was conducted in the Netherlands for several years, it was attended by about seven hundred people.
It turned out that patients with a high level of apathy died much more often than their more optimistic peers – the probability of their premature death was 64% higher. Representatives of the stronger sex were most susceptible to despondency.
Scientists also noted that the loss of will and interest in life is a common problem – in one degree or another apathy was noted in half of the inhabitants of nursing homes.
“Both the patients themselves, and their relatives, and the staff of such institutions should set themselves a clear task to improve the lives of older people and take other measures that would help suppress this negative effect,” said Johanna Neusten, an employee of the University of Nijmegen.
Constant apathy can also be observed in young people. Experts warn that such a symptom may signal abnormalities in the thyroid gland, neurological and cardiovascular diseases.