Dementia Scare? Stay Active by Learning, Socializing and Exercising

Highlights:

• The number of people with dementia in the UK is set to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
• Participating in mentally stimulating activities and having a socially and physically active lifestyle may prevent cognitive decline and dementia.
• It also helps to reduce the development of loss of memory and thinking problems in the future.

The onset of dementia can be prevented or postponed, concluded a recent study that interviewed adults over 60 years of age in the UK. Researchers found this to be true even in those who are more predisposed to the disorder. For the first time, a study has demonstrated developing a ‘cognitive reserve’ over the course of a lifetime through education, social interaction, employment and participation in a variety of hobbies can lower the risk of dementia, even in people with low childhood cognition or a genetic predisposition to the disease. The study is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Cognition may Affect the Risk of Dementia

Individuals who scored poorly on cognitive tests as children are more likely to experience a more rapid deterioration in cognitive function as they age, suggests previous research.

“These results are exciting because they indicate that cognitive ability is influenced by various factors throughout our lifetime and taking part in an intellectually, socially and physically active lifestyle may help ward off cognitive decline and dementia. It’s heartening to find that building up one’s cognitive reserve may offset the negative influence of low childhood cognition for people who might not have benefited from an enriching childhood and offer stronger mental resilience until later in life. Considering that we struggle to successfully treat dementia, this study is promising that we could and should build our mental resilience throughout our entire life before it is too late,” said study author Dorina Cadar of Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

1,184 UK citizens who were born in 1946 participated in the research. Cognitive tests were administered to participants when they were eight years old and once again when they were 69. A cognitive reserve index accounted people’s profession up to age 53, enriching leisure activity involvement at age 43 and education level at that age. Apart from school and employment, their reading proficiency at 53 years was also evaluated as a general indicator of lifetime learning.

The study participants performed a cognitive exam at age 69, with a possible overall score of 100. This group’s average score was 92, with the lowest score of 53 and the best 100.

Stronger reading proficiency in midlife, a higher cognitive reserve index and better cognitive skills in childhood were all linked to better results on the cognitive test at age 69, discovered the researchers. The old-age cognitive test score improved by 0.10 points on average for every unit rise in childhood test results. Average cognitive scores improved by 0.07 points for each unit rise in the cognitive reserve index and by 0.22 points for each unit improvement in reading comprehension.

On average, people with a bachelor’s degree or other higher education credentials outperformed those with no formal schooling by 1.22 points. People who participated in six or more leisure activities, such as clubs, volunteer work, social activities, gardening and adult education classes, on average outperformed those who participated in up to four leisure activities by 1.53 points. The average score of people with professional or intermediate level jobs is 1.5 points higher than that those with partially skilled or unskilled jobs.

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Regardless of the test results at age eight, people with better cognitive reserve indices and reading proficiency did not see a drop in their cognitive abilities as quickly as those with lower scores.

Katherine Gray, Research Communications Manager at Alzheimer’s Society, said, “This long-term Alzheimer’s Society funded study adds to a popular theory that the more you regularly challenge your brain, the less likely you are to experience memory and thinking problems in your later years. From childhood to adulthood, participants who kept their brain active, whether it’s in education, their career, or by taking part in complex hobbies, had better thinking abilities by the age of 69. It’s estimated that the number of people with dementia in the UK is set to rise to 1.6 million by 2040. While there are many risk factors related to developing dementia, it is hopeful to know that engaging in mentally stimulating activities and finding ways to regularly challenge your brain can help reduce the development of memory and thinking problems in the future.”

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However, the study has a limitation – the results of this study may not be representative of the general population. The study participants who stayed until age 69 may be healthier, more cognitively capable and more advantaged socially than participants who dropped out.

Source-Eurekalert News