The study was published in the journal Jan. 10. Affective Disorders Journal They found that people who follow at least some of the six lifestyle factors that support brain health can lower their risk of dementia.
For the study, researchers conducted physical exams and tests for cognitive function and cardiometabolic disease in 2,537 people aged 60 and older. The research team examined how well people adhered to six lifestyle factors previously shown to support brain health: physical exercise, social interaction, sleep quality, leisure activities, smoking status, and alcohol intake. Subjects were rated based on how well they were doing. Each person was assigned a lifestyle she score for each element. Each element was worth 1 point. The researchers followed up with the person two years later.
Of all those assessed, 35.2% of participants adopted 5-6 of the health factors, while only 5.4% of participants adhered to all 6 healthy lifestyle choices. was.
People with an inactive lifestyle and two or more cardiometabolic diseases (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) do not have a cardiometabolic disease and have an intermediate disease. The risk of early cognitive decline was nearly 3.4 times higher than those with . For an active lifestyle.
Overall, the researchers found that each one-point increase in people's overall lifestyle score was associated with an 18% lower risk of early cognitive decline. A combination of lifestyle factors, rather than just one, may slow the rate of decline in cognitive function.
“A healthier lifestyle is associated with a significantly reduced risk of early cognitive decline, but lifestyle changes cannot be made in stages,” says Hao Wei of the National Geriatrics Clinical Research Center. said Li and Shige Qi of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. said in a Newsweek article.
“The most beneficial protective effects were seen when multiple lifestyle factors were brought together, demonstrating how exercise, socialization, sleep, and healthy consumption habits are powerfully combined,” the researchers wrote. added.
