Scientists from Sichuan University found that physical and mental activities, such as household chores, exercise, and visiting with family and friends, may help lower the risk of dementia.
The research is published in Neurology and was conducted by Huan Song et al.
In the study, researchers looked at the effects of these activities, as well as mental activities and the use of electronic devices in people both with and without a higher genetic risk for dementia.
They analyzed data from 501,376 people from a UK database without dementia with an average age of 56.
Participants were asked how often they participated in activities such as climbing a flight of stairs, walking, and participating in strenuous sports.
They were also asked about household chores, job-related activities, and what kind of transportation they used, including walking or biking to work.
They were also asked about their education level, whether they attend adult education classes, how often they visit with friends and family, visit pubs or social clubs or religious groups, and how often they use electronic devices such as playing computer games, watching TV, and talking on the phone.
Additionally, participants reported whether they had any immediate family members with dementia. These helped researchers determine if they had a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Study participants have followed an average of 11 years. At the end of the study, 5,185 people had developed dementia.
The researchers found that most physical and mental activities studied showed links to the risk of dementia. Importantly, the findings remain after considering the high correlations and interactions of these activities.
People who were highly engaged in activity patterns including frequent exercises, household chores, and daily visits to family and friends had a 35%, 21%, and 15% lower risk of dementia, respectively, compared to people who were the least engaged in these activity patterns.
These findings showed that by engaging more frequently in healthy physical and mental activities people may reduce their risk of dementia.
The results are encouraging that making these simple lifestyle changes may be beneficial.
The researchers also found that all participants benefited from the protective effect of physical and mental activities, whether or not they had a family history of dementia.
If you care about dementia risk, please read studies about 12 things that can prevent dementia effectively, and this blood test can predict dementia, and Alzheimer’s 5 years early.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that COVID-19 may strongly affect your brain, and results showing this existing drug can prevent COVID death.
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