A novel study by the researchers from the University of Eastern Finland says brain health and cynicism may be linked. People who do not trust others easily have more chances to develop dementia.

People having the highest level of cynical distrust had a two-and-a-half time greater risk of dementia than others having low level of cynicism. Researchers said an individual's personality and outlook towards life may affect the risk of developing dementia.

For the study, researchers defined cynicism as a person's belief that others are motivated by selfishness. Researchers looked at data on 1,500 Fins aged between 65 and 79 in 1997. Certain behaviors that were assessed included basic characteristics, attitude towards life and dementia in 1997 and then again after eight to 10 years.

Cynical distrust was measured with the help of eight-question survey and participants were measured on a scale from zero to 24. Participants getting higher numbers represented greater cynicism. Those who scored highest on cynicism scale between 15 and 24 were also the ones more likely to smoke and gain weight, found researchers.

The highly cynical group had 164 people, the smallest group; 246 were in the group of people having moderate cynicism and 212 in the least-cynicism group. In the first group, there were 14 dementia diagnosis and 13 were in there in the moderately-cynical group and nine in the least-cynical group.

Researchers said most cynical group had more than three times risk of developing dementia than that of the least cynical group. "I think in the near future cynicism and other psychological attitudes will be incorporated medically", said H. Shellae Versey from the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research at Rutgers University in Camden.