The same lifestyle changes found effective in reducing heart disease risk, such as exercise, healthy eating, and social engagement, can also shield people from dementia, according to a new study.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University found that these daily habits can help reduce the growing burden of cognitive decline, suggesting that losing cognitive function is not an inevitable part of ageing.
Nearly 60 million suffer from dementia worldwide, and this number could more than double by 2050, studies suggest.
This is despite deaths from cardiovascular disease declining in many parts of the world, scientists say.
Previous research has shown that lifestyle risk factors like physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, alcohol use, and conditions like hypertension, diabetes, depression, and social or intellectual isolation contribute to cognitive decline.
The new study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, found that the same therapeutic lifestyle changes proven effective for reducing heart disease risk can also help reduce cognitive decline.
“While deaths from cardiovascular disease have declined since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have surged by more than 140 per cent,” study co-author Charles H Hennekens said.
“At the same time, it is estimated that up to 45 per cent of dementia risk could be attributed to modifiable lifestyle and environmental factors,” Dr Hennekens said.
In the study, scientists conducted the first large-scale US-based clinical trial of its kind to test whether intensive lifestyle changes can improve cognitive outcomes in older adults at high risk of decline.
Participants assigned at random to a structured, team-based lifestyle intervention showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in global cognition over two years, researchers say.
Researchers noted gains in executive functions such as memory, attention, planning and decision-making among participants.
Participants followed regular physical activity, along with Mediterranean and Dash-style diets, cognitive stimulation and social engagement.
The findings show that lifestyle changes, previously shown to reduce heart disease and cancer, also hold transformative potential for brain health.
Scientists suspect physical activity works by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which supports hippocampal growth, while also improving blood flow and reducing inflammation.
On the other hand, complementing physical activity with a Mediterranean and Dash diet can lower oxidative stress and improve insulin sensitivity as well as the risks of cardiovascular disease.
“The implications for clinical practice, public health and government policy are potentially enormous,” said Parvathi Perumareddi, another author of the study.
“Clinicians now have powerful, evidence-based tools to help their patients prevent or slow cognitive decline – tools that go beyond medications, are generally low-risk, and are cost-effective,” Dr Perumareddi.
Scientists call for all to invest in lifestyle-based strategies to protect brain health.
“Doing so will not only benefit individuals at risk but also serve as a powerful tool for reducing national and global health care burdens related to cognitive decline,” Dr Perumareddi said.
