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Good nutrition and sufficient exercise do not only help your waistline. Healthy lifestyle factors may also help reduce your risk of dementia, even if your genetic risk is higher, according to a study published Sunday in the medical journal JAMA.
This study, along with other research on the impact of lifestyle factors on dementia, is being presented this week at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.
There is no cure or preventive medicine that can stop dementia and its most common form, Alzheimer's disease. But more and more evidence suggests that your way of life can potentially reduce your risk.
The study found that among people at high genetic risk, those who maintained a healthy lifestyle – observed their diet, exercised regularly, drank to a minimum and did not smoke – were less likely to develop dementia later. in life.
The study looked at 196,383 adults aged 60 and over living in the UK and found that 1.13% of those with a healthy lifestyle were developing dementia later in life, compared with 1.78 % of those with a healthier lifestyle – a statistically significant difference.
Adults who participated in the study joined from 2006 to 2010 and the researchers followed them until 2016-2017.
"This research is exciting in that it shows that we can act to counter the genetic risk of dementia," said Elzbieta Kuźma, research fellow at the University of Exeter's Faculty of Medicine, who participated in the study. "In our study, adherence to a healthy lifestyle was associated with reduced risk of dementia, regardless of genetic risk."
The study has certain limitations. The patients were all of European origin and had declared their way of life.
"While this well-conducted study adds to the data suggesting that a healthy lifestyle can help prevent dementia in many people, it's important to remember that some people will develop dementia, whatever the health of their lifestyle, "Tara Spiers-Jones, research on dementia in the UK. Program Manager of the Institute, told Science Media Center.
Spiers-Jones, who is also Deputy Director of the Center for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, did not participate in the new study.
"We need more research on the brain changes that cause the diseases underlying the symptoms of dementia to develop effective preventive treatments for all people with dementia," Spires-Jones said.
Another study presented at the Alzheimer's conference yielded a similar result after reviewing data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project and the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which were followed up with patients after nine years.
People who adopted four or five healthy lifestyle habits – a healthy diet, at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week, moderate to moderate consumption, no smoking and a mentally stimulating activity – reduced by 60 the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. % compared to people who had only one of these healthier behaviors.
People who added only one of these healthy habits to their lifestyle, regardless of their state of health at the beginning of the study, saw their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease fall by 22%.
Other studies presented at the conference also showed that alcoholic women significantly increased their risk of dementia later in life. Smoking also appears to be associated with cognitive impairment even in mid-life.
Previous research has shown that links to a healthy lifestyle can help prevent some forms of dementia, but scientists still do not understand why. Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the number of cases is increasing. While 5.8 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, scientists predict that this number will reach nearly 14 million by 2050.
"Although there is no proven treatment or treatment for Alzheimer's disease, many research now suggests that combining healthy habits with brain health and a risk of cognitive decline," said Maria C. Carrillo, scientific leader of the Alzheimer's Association. "The research today reported to [the conference] gives us feasible and achievable recommendations that can help us all live a healthier life. "
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