Participation in certain physical and psychological stimulating activities may prevent dementia, new studies suggest.
In a large prospective cohort study, people who exercise regularly and strenuously have a 35% lower risk of dementia, those who do household chores consistently have a 21% lower risk, and meet friends and family daily. Those who reported that were 15% lower. Risk compared to participants who do not follow these activity patterns the most.
In addition, protective effects of these activities were seen among participants both with and without a genetic risk of dementia.
“By engaging more often in healthy physical and mental activities, people can reduce their risk of dementia, regardless of their genetic susceptibility,” said collaborator Juanson, a professor of medicine and epidemiology. West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West Sichuan University China Hospital said Medscape Medical News.
The survey results are Published online July 27 Neurology.
Large-scale prospective study
The analysis included 501,376 participants from the UK Biobank. This is an ongoing prospective cohort study of subjects aged 40 to 69 years from 2006 to 2010 from the United Kingdom, Scotland and Wales. The average age at hire was 56.53, with 54.4% being female.
Investigators collected socio-demographic data, lifestyle factors, and information on medical and health status. They accessed data on medical diagnosis and survival from cross-linked national health registries.
Physical activity information was obtained from a self-reported international physical activity questionnaire. Categories included household chores or leisure activities such as intense sports, other exercise, walking for fun, and climbing stairs. Individuals reported whether they participated in these activities, and if so, how often and how long.
Other physical activity categories included work-related activities such as standing and walking at work, heavy physical labor, and transportation by foot, bicycle, car, or public transport.
Mental activities were associated with social contact, such as visiting friends and family, going to pubs and social clubs, and engaging in religious or other group activities. Use electronic devices such as watching TV, playing computer games, and calling contacts on mobile phones. And intelligence.
In addition to considering high correlations and interactions between multiple modes of activity, researchers used principal component analysis to identify distinct behavioral patterns presented as key principal components (PCs).
They calculate the PC score and show that the higher the score, the better the adherence to a particular pattern. We also categorized PC scores into low, medium, and high groups.
Diagnostic codes were used to identify cases of dementia. 10. During the average follow-up period of 66 years, there were 5185 cases of dementia, of which 803 were Vascular dementia1561 Alzheimer’s diseaseAnd other dementia 2697.
Researchers used a one-year lag time to explain the potential risk of delay and inverse causality in diagnosing dementia. They started follow-up of each participant one year after the recruitment date.
Covariates include demographic factors such as gender, age, race, and ethnicity, socioeconomic factors of income and education, lifestyle factors of alcohol and smoking, weight index, deprivation index, comorbidities, and High blood pressure And hyperlipidemia.
The results showed an association between physical or mental activity and dementia risk, after considering the high correlations and interactions of these activities.
Important pattern
Looking at the patterns, researchers found that adherence to frequent strenuous exercise and other physical activity (hazard ratios) reduced the risk of dementia. [HR], 0.65 for high and low PC scores. 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.71) and household chores (HR, 0.79 for high vs. low, 0.72 to 0.85).
Researchers point out that physical activity may reduce the risk of dementia by improving cerebral blood flow and releasing brain-derived neurotrophic factors. Another possible mechanism is due to antioxidant effects that delay brain damage.
In terms of mental activity, individuals with high and low PC scores had a lower risk of dementia and adhered to friend and family visit patterns (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.96).
Researchers write that this result enhances the benefits of social contact, as social isolation can lead to faster cognitive decline. They add that isolation can indirectly affect brain function by increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, depression..
Results were similar for different types of dementia and for income levels, gender, and age groups. Similar findings between participants aged 65 and under and participants aged 65 and over at baseline indicate that the association is likely to be applicable to both early and late-onset dementia. Researchers point out that it suggests.
A unique aspect of this study was the investigation of susceptibility to dementia. This is the Multigene Risk Score (PRS), APOE Genotype and family history of dementia.
HR for adherence to strenuous and other exercise patterns is 0.64 (95% CI, 0.52-0.77) for people with low genetic risk (PRS <1st tercile) and 0.68 (95) for people with high genetic risk. It was% CI, 0.57 to 0.79). dangerous.The results are between participants with and without a family history of dementia, and APOE ε4 carrier and non-carrier.
“Our findings show physical and mental dementia relief because similar results were obtained when individual analyzes were performed on subgroups of participants with different susceptibility to dementia. It emphasizes the universal importance of the activity, “says Song.
She added that the study could impact public health initiatives.
“While further research is needed to confirm our findings, our results are an exercise program that promotes early prevention of dementia by engaging more frequently in these healthy physical and mental activities. Encourages the development of, “said Song.
This study was funded by the National Foundation for Natural Sciences of China, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the National Center for Clinical Research for Geriatrics. Song does not disclose any relevant financial relationships.
Neurology. Published online on July 27, 2022. Overview
