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WEDNESDAY, February 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) – If you're over the age of 50 and your typical day is sitting down at an office, then lying down on the couch and falling for late-night snacks, the toll is long term your mind may be bigger than you think.
Like dominoes, an unhealthy lifestyle can trigger inflammation throughout your body, which can then accelerate brain wear, according to a new study.
The result? Faster decline in thinking and memory for people who do not practice healthy habits that counteract inflammation.
Long-term inflammation is most often caused by chronic health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, said lead researcher Keenan Walker. He is a postdoctoral fellow in neurology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
"We found that people in adulthood with higher levels of inflammatory markers in the blood tended to decrease more rapidly over the next 20 years, particularly with regard to memory measurements." Walker said.
Regular exercise, a healthy diet for the heart and a good sleep could be important factors in preventing the decline of age-related brain function, the study authors concluded.
"If someone really gets sick, he tends to have behavioral changes," Walker explained. "Even with a simple cold, people have different behavior. They are less likely to want to do anything, they lose their motivation. They are less hungry. They sometimes experience mood changes. These are all examples of systemic inflammation in the body. affecting how the brain works. "
Given this, it is possible that chronic inflammation in the long term may have long-term effects on brain health.
To test this notion, the research team collected data on more than 12,300 people participating in a long-term study of heart health issues. Participants, averaging 57 years old, were followed for about two decades.
As part of the study, the researchers took blood samples and measured four different markers of inflammation. They combined all four to obtain a composite inflammation score for each person.
According to the report, participants' thinking and memory skills were also tested at the beginning and end of the study.
The group of people with the highest inflammation scores experienced a more pronounced 8% decline in thinking and memory abilities during the study, compared with those with inflammation in the weaker, showed the results.
Walker described as "modest" the influence of chronic inflammation on thinking and memory skills, but added that it was more powerful than the effect seen in previous studies of high blood pressure mean about brain function later in life.
This could happen either because chronic inflammation directly harms the neurons, or because it exacerbates other brain conditions that contribute to Alzheimer's disease or dementia, said Walker.
However, people should not start taking anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen baduming the drugs will protect the health of their brains, warned Walker and Mary Sano, director of the center. of Alzheimer's disease research at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai. At New York.
Sano said, "Many studies have examined anti-inflammatory agents in cognitive systems. [thinking] over the years, and the results have been modest to unimpressive. "
This shows instead the potential importance for life of reducing inflammation in your body by staying aware of chronic health problems and adopting a healthy lifestyle, said Walker and Sano.
"One of my common comments to people is to treat your treatable problems," said Sano. "If you reduce inflammatory effects in general, you can also reduce their effects on cognition."
Neither Sano nor Walker thought that it would be too late to start eating well, exercise and control chronic diseases.
"I think earlier is usually better," said Walker, "but I am aware of studies that suggest improved nutrition and exercise can have a positive impact on cognitive health. , even in older adults. "
The results were published online on February 13 in the journal Neurology.
More information
Johns Hopkins has more about chronic inflammation.
SOURCES: Keenan Walker, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; Mary Sano, Ph.D., director, Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York; February 13, 2019, Neurologyonline
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