TUESDAY, Feb. 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Among older adults, a healthier lifestyle is associated with better overall cognitive function near death, a study shows The results of the study were published online. JAMA Neurology.
Clodian Dana, MD, PhD, of the Rush Institute in Chicago, and colleagues conducted a cohort study using data from 586 deceased patients to examine the role of postmortem brain pathology in the relationship between pre-death lifestyle and cognition. . . A healthy lifestyle score was created based on self-reported factors. Scores ranged from 0 to 5. The overall cognitive score was based on a battery of 19 standardized tests.
Researchers observed an association between higher lifestyle scores and better overall functioning closer to death. In a multivariable-adjusted model, a 1-point increase in lifestyle score was associated with a 0.216-unit increase in global cognitive score. Neither the strength nor significance of the association changed substantially when common dementia-related brain pathology was included in the multivariable-adjusted model. After adjusting for β-amyloid burden, the β estimate was 0.191. Higher lifestyle scores were associated with lower brain β-amyloid burden (β = −0.120). Of the association between lifestyle and cognition, 11.6 percent was estimated by β-amyloid burden.
“A healthier lifestyle is associated with better cognitive function near death, independent of common dementia neuropathology, and lifestyle factors preserve cognitive performance in older adults. “Our results suggest that this may provide a significant amount of cognitive reserve,” the authors write.
One author disclosed a relationship with Eisai.
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