Adopting six simple healthy lifestyle habits could cut your risk of developing dementia, suggests
research.
Experts additionally said benefits could be gained from only ten minutes of exercise daily — half
of what is recommended.
Dementia is a condition where the brain function is impacted, which robs sufferers of
independence and memories and is on the rise.
In England alone, the number of diagnoses has increased to 487,432 as of June of this year, which
is a rise of 12 percent when compared to January.
Increasing rates are thought to be due to an aging population, increased prevalence of the risk
factors that can lead to dementia, and increased awareness of symptoms, leading to more people
seeking a test.
However, experts say making only a few tweaks to your lifestyle could significantly decrease your
risk of developing the condition.
One recent study in China assessed hundreds of participants, focusing on how healthy their lives
were, and gave them scores between zero and six based on numerous factors.
For example, participating in a ‘healthy’ level of exercise awarded them one point.
Conversely, volunteers who didn’t break a sweat for a minimum of ten minutes daily for three or
four days weekly got nothing for this category.
Other lifestyle habits related to smoking status, quality of sleep, and alcohol consumption. Having
hobbies and social interaction were the other two factors.
All 2,537 volunteers without dementia were tracked for two years when the study began.
The analysis demonstrated that participants who scored at least four points were 29 percent less
likely to show cognitive decline signs by the end than anyone who scored three or lower.
Every one-point increase in the total score was tied to an 18 percent lower risk of cognitive decline,
which is considered a dementia precursor, said researchers at Beijing’s Chinese PLA General
Hospital.
Benefits also appeared even more striking among participants who suffered from cardiometabolic
diseases, like heart attack or stroke.
Leading an inactive lifestyle — scoring three or below — was linked to a risk of early cognitive
decline 3-fold.
Some 29.98 percent of cases of early cognitive decline would “not have occurred if all older adults
with cardiometabolic diseases had been adhering to an active lifestyle,” said the authors.
Participants in the study were 60 and older and were queried about their medical history and daily
exercise habits.
A physical exam was additionally conducted to measure their weight, blood pressure, and height,
while blood samples were taken to assess their cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
Volunteers were then surveyed on the six lifestyle factors tied to dementia and monitored for a
disease diagnosis.
In the study, a point was given to volunteers who met each of the following categories:
• Smoking status: Either having quit smoking or never having smoked.
• Leisure activities: Reading newspapers or books daily, playing cards at least twice a week,
or using the internet daily.
• Exercise: Being active for more than ten minutes “almost every day” or “three or four days
a week.”
• Social contact: Meeting more than three times per month for social activities or three times
per week with others in the neighborhood.
• Quality of sleep: Falling asleep or not waking up quickly.
• Alcohol consumption: Rarely drinking or not drinking at all each month.
However, the study was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders and had flaws.
Scientists didn’t consider the impact of other sleep factors, like getting less than the minimum of
seven hours of sleep nightly.
About seven million people in the United States and 900,000 in the U.K. have dementia, a term
used as an umbrella for numerous brain diseases that affect cognition, memory, and thinking.
Other studies have also linked lifestyle factors with a higher risk of dementia.
The Lancet Commission concluded up to 40 percent of cases could be delayed or prevented by
targeting 12 changeable risk factors, including type 2 diabetes, excess intake of alcohol, obesity,
physical inactivity, and smoking in 2020.
Scientists hope that by raising awareness of the risk factors — which, as we age, change —
individuals can take steps to reduce their chances of getting dementia.
Although the number of dementia cases diagnosed in England is a record, analysts predict it only
makes up 65 percent of the absolute number of actual cases.
This means hundreds of thousands of people in Britain are living with the condition but not
receiving support.
Although dementia can’t be cured, therapies and medication are available to help combat the
symptoms and slow its progression.
Treating dementia costs the U.K. £4 billion per year, though this amount is predicted to more than
double to £90 billion in the next 15 years.
Dementia is also one of the biggest killers in the country, accounting for the death of one in 10
Brits.
Great Britain is not alone in facing a growing toll from dementia, with experts predicting
international cases of the condition will triple to 153 million by 2050.
Rates globally, much like in the U.K., are expected to increase due to aging populations and a
growing lack of exercise and poor diet, leading to an increase in risk factors for dementia.
