The seven healthy habits that can almost HALVE your risk of dementia
From stubbing out cigarettes forever to eating more nuts: The seven simple habits that can almost HALVE your risk of dementia (even if you’re genetically predisposed to the condition!)
Seven healthy habits can help reduce the risk of dementia by up to 43 per centFinding is based on a 30 year study of almost 12,000 Americans in their 50sHealthy habits also helped those who had genetic predisposition to dementia
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Adhering to seven healthy habits can almost halve your chance of developing dementia, a study suggests.
Managing blood pressure and blood sugar, controlling cholesterol, staying active, eating healthily, staying slim and not smoking lowered the risk by up to 43 per cent.
A diet rich in vegetables, fruits and nuts, 150 minutes of exercise a week, and ditching cigarettes for nicotine replacements are just some of the measures experts recommend.
These lifestyle choices were even effective in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition.
Known as the ‘American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7’, these habits had been linked to a lower risk of dementia previously.
Researchers from the University of Mississippi looked at the medical records of almost 12,000 people in their 50s over three decades to measure their influence.
Lead author of the study Professor Adrienne Tin said: ‘The good news is that even for people who are at the highest genetic risk, living by this same healthier lifestyle are likely to have a lower risk of dementia.’
Seven habits are linked to a lower risk of dementia in those with genetic risk, a study suggests
The study looked at 8,823 people with European ancestry and 2,738 people with African ancestry who were aged about 54-years-old at the start of the study.
Researchers calculated their initial genetic risk scores, based on things like family medical history and other underlying health issues that can raise the risk of dementia, like heart disease.
Participants were then scored on how closely they adhered to seven healthy habits based on a mixture of survey and medical data.
By the end of the study, 1,603 people with European ancestry developed dementia and 631 people with African ancestry developed dementia.
The healthiest Europeans, were found to have the lower risk of dementia, even among the group with the highest genetic risk.
Researchers calculated for each one-point increase on their lifestyle score people lowered their dementia risk by 9 per cent.
For the top scorers this translated to between a 30 per cent and 43 per cent lower risk for dementia.
There were less gains for people of African ancestry with the healthiest only experiencing a 6 per cent to 17 per cent lower risk for dementia.
Dr Rosa Sancho, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘Dementia risk depends on many factors.
‘Some, like our age and genetic make-up, we cannot change, while others, like diet and exercise, we can.
‘This study supports the idea that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain – and that this holds true even for people with a higher genetic risk of dementia, at least for participants of European ancestry.’
However, she added there were some limitations to the findings.
‘Although the researchers monitored participants for all forms of dementia, when grouping people according to genetic risk they focused only on genes that increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease, just one cause of dementia,’ she said.
‘Also, health scores were taken at the start of the study, but what we don’t know is whether the participants’ healthy habits lasted for the duration of the study.’
Dr Sancho added that future research will need to include risk genres for all forms of dementia, and ideally continually monitor health habits.
The researchers also found the group with the highest genetic risk included those that had at least one copy of a gene variant – change in DNA – associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Of those with a European background, 27.9 per cent had the gene, while of those who had African ancestry, 40.4 per cent had it.
The research is published in the journal Neurology.
The Alzheimer’s Society reports there are more than 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK today. This is projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
In the US, it’s estimated there are 5.5 million Alzheimer’s sufferers. A similar percentage rise is expected in the coming years.
Dementia itself is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders (those affecting the brain) which impact memory, thinking and behaviour.
There are many different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, with vascular dementia another type.
There is currently no cure for dementia but drugs are available which can slow its progression.
