According to one study, doing five different things could reduce your risk of Alzheimer's by 60%.

According to a new study, here's a list of things to do to prevent dementia: peel the red meat, walk quickly to the grocery store, do the Sunday crossword and stick to a glass of wine at dinner.

A study presented at the International Alzheimer's Association Conference in Los Angeles Sunday revealed that the combination of five lifestyle habits – eating healthy, exercising regularly and refraining from smoking – can reduce the risk by 60%. Alzheimer. A separate study has shown that lifestyle choices can reduce risks, even for people who are genetically predisposed to the disease.

The report, written by the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, tracked 2,765 people over a decade or so. All participants were older adults enrolled in the Chicago Health and Aging Project or the Rush Memory and Aging Project, two long-term, federally funded, observational studies that examined mental decline in aging residents. Chicago.

Over the past decade, studies have increasingly emphasized that controllable lifestyle factors are essential to reducing the risk of cognitive decline. Researchers say that, as with heart disease, the fight against dementia will probably require a "cocktail" approach combining drugs and lifestyle changes. And as recent efforts to develop more effective treatment or drug treatments for dementia have been disappointing, the fact that people can exercise some control over disease prevention through their own choices is encouraging news. .

The authors of the new study expected to see a healthier life reducing the risk of dementia, but they were impressed by the "magnitude of the effect," said Klodian Dhana, a professor at the University of Toronto. Rush University and co-author.

"It demonstrates the potential of lifestyles for reducing risk as we get older," said Heather Snyder, senior director of medical and scientific operations at Alzheimer's Association. "The fact that four or five living habits put together can have this kind of benefit for your brain is incredibly powerful."

The Rush team evaluated the lifestyle of the study participants according to five criteria: their diet, their exercise regimen, whether they smoke or not, their alcohol consumption, and their "commitment to lifestyle activities." cognitive stimulation, "said Dhana. The researchers then scored each factor, attributing participants a "1" if their behavior was healthy in this category and a "0" s was unhealthy.

People who ate a "high quality diet" consisting mainly of vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, seafood, poultry and olive oil – while avoiding red meats, butter, cheese, pastries, sweets and fried foods – earned 1 €. This was also true for anyone who exercised at least 150 minutes a week, whether cycling, walking, swimming, gardening or working in the yard.

People who do not smoke, limit themselves to a glass of wine a day and engage regularly, two or three times a week, in mentally stimulating activities such as reading the newspaper, visiting the library or playing games like chess and ladies. .

After analyzing the numbers, Dhana and her colleagues found that people who scored 4 or 5, which means that they had adopted four or five healthy behaviors during the study period, were 60% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than participants scored 0 or 1. The results did not vary by race or gender, said Dhana.

The average age of participants in the CHAP cohort was 73 years and that of the 81-year-old MAP cohort. The study population included both men and women, blacks and non-Hispanic whites.

About 50 million people worldwide have dementia and this number is expected to triple by 2050, according to the World Alzheimer Report 2018. The overall cost of dementia in 2018 was about $ 1 trillion, figure that is expected to double by 2030.

If you can not adopt the four or five healthy habits studied, target one or two – do what you can, said Dhana. Anything that can help: The Rush team found that making only one other health choice, regardless of the number of participants, reduced their chances of getting Alzheimer's by 27%.

And if you try to choose the habits to adopt, Dhana has her preferences.

"My biggest reward is encouraging seniors to eat more leafy greens, replace red meat with poultry, and avoid fried foods as much as possible," he said. "Also, walk up to the grocery store and read books!"

Another study presented on Sunday also revealed that lifestyle choices could even counteract the genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease. This research, led by a team from the University of Exeter's Faculty of Medicine, showed that people with high genetic risk of Alzheimer's were less likely to develop the disease if they pursued a disease. healthy lifestyle.

Synder said she expects to see more and more studies examining the role of lifestyle choices in the future.

"I think we'll see people getting to work", what are the specific aspects of these already identified behaviors? She said. "But I also think we'll see people asking," What are the other behaviors? "

Snyder said that she would not be surprised if the number of recommended lifestyle choices eventually reached 10 or 12 people.

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