The seven lifestyle habits in middle-age proven to slash dementia

Studies suggest that adopting seven healthy habits in middle age can significantly reduce the risk of dementia.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, followed nearly 14,000 women in their 50s for 20 years.

Participants were surveyed on seven lifestyle factors associated with dementia and monitored for disease diagnosis. Individually, seven factors reduced risk by approximately 6%.

Because dementia begins in the brain many years before diagnosis, scientists said middle-aged habits likely influence a patient’s risk.

The 7 factors are: being active, eating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking, maintaining normal blood pressure, controlling cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels. is to lower

Dr. Pamela List, assistant professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who led the study, said: You can reduce your risk of dementia.

“We know that dementia can start in the brain decades before diagnosis, so we need to learn more about how middle-aged habits influence the risk of dementia in old age. It is important.

“The good news is that making healthy lifestyle choices in middle age may lead to lower dementia risk later in life.”

In this study, scientists tracked 13,720 women who were on average 54 years old at the start of the paper.

After 20 years, 1,771 (13%) of the participants developed dementia.

A score of 0 and 1 was given for each of the 7 health factors, giving a total of 7 possible scores.

The average score was 4.3 at the beginning of the study and 4.2 after 10 years.

After adjusting for factors such as age and education, the researchers found that the risk of dementia decreased by 6% for each point increase in score.

Richard Oakley, deputy director of research at the UK-based charity Alzheimer’s Association, who was not involved in the study, said, “Aging is the biggest risk factor for developing dementia, but this Research is what you can do to lower your risk.

“Although some risk factors such as age and genetics are beyond our control, this preliminary study supports existing evidence that lifestyle factors play a role in dementia risk.”

Women were recruited for the study between 1992 and 1994 and followed up to 2018.

The study will be presented in April at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston.

Scientists have known for years that smoking, high blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels increase the risk of dementia.

All of these factors increase inflammation levels and block blood flow to the brain.

Eating a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight is also protective, as it helps reduce levels of stress and inflammation and prevents dangerous build-up of toxic chemicals in the brain.

Scientists did not consider the impact of other lifestyle factors on dementia risk.

Dementia rates are soaring in the United States, and it is estimated that by 2040 the number of people with dementia could soar from 7 to 12 million people.

Scientists aren’t exactly sure what’s driving this increase, but it’s because people are living longer, higher rates of obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. may be the cause.

This new research is supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Dementia is a general term for cognitive decline, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form.

Scientists aren’t sure what causes it, but higher levels of inflammation and an accumulation of proteins in the brain are associated with the disease.

Last week, experts at University College London (UCL) said staying active throughout adulthood could help prevent dementia.

Their long-term study found that those who exercised as they aged were more likely to have better brain health than those who stopped exercising for short periods of time.

But to improve cognitive function, research suggests that even starting to exercise in your 60s is better than doing nothing.

In 2020, more than 55 million people worldwide will have dementia.