Researchers discovered a simple approach for the elderly to minimize their risk of developing dementia and live longer.
As you become older, you may become more concerned about your cognitive abilities.
While there are things you can do while you’re young to help minimize the risk of mental decline, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising frequently, recent research revealed that practicing these basic chores daily can postpone dementia by 5 years and cut the total risk by 38%.
Rush University Medical Center researchers tracked 1,923 older persons who were initially free of dementia, checking in with them once a year to assess their social activity and cognitive health.
Over nearly seven years, 545 people got dementia, and 695 exhibited evidence of moderate cognitive impairment.
The researchers determined that those who engaged in more regular social interaction had a 38% reduced risk of getting dementia and a 21% lower risk of moderate cognitive impairment.
And that social activity may be anything, such as dining out with friends, attending religious services, or simply remaining connected to others.
In a news release, Bryan James, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine at Rush, described their findings.
He stated, “This study is a follow-up to prior articles from our lab that indicate that social interaction is associated with reduced cognitive impairment in older persons.
“In this study, we show that social activity is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia and mild cognitive impairment and that the least socially active older adults developed dementia an average of five years before the most socially active.”
Furthermore, we expect a three-year increase in life expectancy if we delay dementia by five years.
We used a questionnaire to assess how frequently participants engaged in six common social activities. According to the press release, these activities included going to restaurants or sporting events, playing bingo, taking day or overnight vacations, volunteering, or visiting family or friends.
We hypothesize that socializing benefits the brain, but we don’t know why.
James offered this idea: “[One possibility is that] social activity challenges older adults to participate in complex interpersonal exchanges, which could promote or maintain efficient neural networks in a case of ‘use it or lose it.”