[ad_1]
LONDON: Healthy living with good nutrition and regular exercise could help people with high genetic susceptibility to dementia to offset the risk of developing it, according to a recent study.
The risk of dementia was reduced by 32% in people at high genetic risk if they had followed a healthy lifestyle, compared to those with an unhealthy lifestyle, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Sunday .
People with high genetic risk and an unhealthy lifestyle were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than people with low genetic risk who were also living in good health.
"Our results are exciting because they show that we can act to try to compensate for our genetic risk of dementia," said Elzbieta Kuzma, a researcher at Exeter University in Britain, who co-authored directed the study.
Dementia – a disease that spends the brain – affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide, with nearly 10 million new cases a year – a figure that is expected to triple by 2050, according to the World Organization. of health.
The Kuzma team badyzed data from nearly 197,000 adults of European descent aged 60 and over. They found 1,769 cases of dementia over an eight-year follow-up period and grouped them into people at high, medium and low risk for dementia.
To evaluate lifestyle, the researchers examined the diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption reported by participants.
Non-smokers who exercised regularly and had a good diet with moderate alcohol consumption were considered to have the healthiest lifestyles – and it was shown that these people had reduced their risk, that they belonged to high, medium or low genetic risk groups.
David Llewellyn, also from Exeter University, said the results of his research carried an important message that undermined what he described as "a fatalistic view of dementia".
"Some people believe that it is inevitable that they develop dementia because of their genetics," he said. "(But) you may be able to significantly reduce your risk of dementia by adopting a healthy lifestyle."
(Kate Kelland report, edited by G Crosse)
Source link
