Decrease Your Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia – Avoid These 8 Controllable Risk Factors



According to a recent study, lifestyle factors may be more important in determining dementia risk than age.

Adults without dementia risk factors like smoking, diabetes, or hearing loss exhibited brain health that was comparable to that of people who are 10 to 20 years younger than them, according to recent Baycrest research. The study found that only one dementia risk factor could cause a person's cognitive age to increase by up to three years.

Our findings imply that for defining someone's degree of cognitive functioning, lifestyle factors may be more significant than age. The study's lead author, Dr. Annalise LaPlume, a postdoctoral fellow at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI), says that this is fantastic news because there are many things you can do to change these factors, such as managing diabetes, taking care of hearing loss, and getting the help you need to stop smoking.

One of the first studies to consider lifestyle risk factors for dementia across the lifespan.

We included data from individuals as young as 18, whereas the majority of studies of this kind focus on mid- and older adults. We discovered that risk variables had a detrimental effect on cognitive function at all ages. According to Dr. Nicole Anderson, Senior Scientist at the RRI, Associate Scientific Director of Baycrest's Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness, and senior author of this study, this is essential because it shows that risk factors can and should be treated as soon as feasible.

Data from 22,117 individuals between the ages of 18 and 89 who completed the Cogniciti Brain Health Assessment, created by Baycrest, were used in the study, which was just published in the Alzheimer's Association journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment, and Disease Monitoring. By visiting the Cogniciti website, participants completed the test from the comfort of their homes. The test comprises of a background inquiry and four cognitive tests, and it takes about 20 minutes to complete.

The researchers looked at how participants' performance on memory and attention tests was impacted by eight modifiable risk factors for dementia: low education (less than a high school diploma), hearing loss, traumatic brain injury, alcohol or substance abuse, hypertension, smoking (currently or in the last four years), diabetes, and depression.

Each component resulted in a loss of cognitive function that was comparable to aging by three years, and each subsequent factor had a similar impact. For instance, having three risk factors may cause cognitive function to deteriorate at a rate corresponding to nine years of age. The effects of the risk factors and their prevalence increased as people aged.

Overall, our research demonstrates that you have the ability to lower your risk of cognitive deterioration and dementia, according to Dr. LaPlume. "Whether you're 18 or 90, start addressing any risk factors you have today to support your brain health and age courageously."

Reference: Annalise A. LaPlume, Ph.D., Larissa McKetton, Ph.D., Brian Levine, Ph.D., Angela K. Troyer, Ph.D., and Nicole D. Anderson, Ph.D., "The Adverse Effect of Modifiable Dementia Risk Factors on Cognition Amplifies Across the Adult Lifetime," 13 July 2022, Alzheimer's & Dementia Diagnosis

The Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Alzheimer Society of Canada both provided funding for this study.

With more money, the researchers might investigate the distinctions between "super agers" and people who age normally but perform cognitively on par with people who are decades younger.

By BAYCREST CENTRE FOR GERIATRIC CARE 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do You Sleep on Your Back or Side? Here's The Research on 'Optimal' Sleep Positions

Image
William Dement, a renowned sleep researcher at Stanford University, is quoted as saying that after 50 years of study, the only reason he can think of for why we sleep is "because we become sleepy." Sleep certainly matters for our health and wellbeing even though it may be, as one researcher put it, "the sole major habit in quest of a function." Do we, however, have it right? What do studies on sleeping positions say? Is there a proper sleeping position? The majority of people favor sleeping on their side. This is encouraging news because people who sleep on their backs are more likely to have trouble falling asleep or breathing during the night. Most of the time, we have a tendency to shift around quite a bit at night. According to a study involving 664 sleepers, on average, participants slept on their side 54% of the time, their back 37% of the time, and their front 7% of the time. Males are more likely to change positions throughout the night and move their arms, ...
Read more

The Science of Beards

Image
Here are a few facts that scientists have learned about beards as the world prepares to celebrate amazing facial hair on World Beard Day (September 3). Strong Manly Beard Men who have beards appear to be more dominant, aggressive, and strong, according to numerous studies[1][2][3] that have been conducted. In fact, men claim that growing facial hair makes them feel[4] more manly. Men who choose to grow beards tend to have higher testosterone levels than men who choose to keep their faces clean-shaven, according to research. They are also more likely to be hostile sexists, or to support the patriarchy and male dominance, as well as to believe that women belong in the kitchen, according to research on this topic. The beards (and muscles) on these males might be used to enforce gender roles. Professor R. D. Guthrie proposed in his book "Evolution of human threat display organs" from the 1970s that beards could be utilized to scare male rivals by improving aggressive and threaten...
Read more

Scientists Uncover a Surprising Connection Between Appetite and Sun Exposure

Image
Recent studies from Tel Aviv University show that women are not affected by sun exposure on their hunger levels, but males are. The study shows how the metabolic pathway is engaged differently in men and women. It was carried out utilizing lab models. Males of both animal and human species, as well as those exposed to the sun, are reportedly triggered to produce a protein called p53 that repairs any DNA damage that may have been done to the skin as a result of the exposure. The body produces the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin in response to p53 activation. In females, the hormone estrogen stops p53 from interacting with ghrelin, preventing the desire to eat after being in the sun. The ground-breaking investigation was directed by professor Carmit Levy and Ph.D. candidate Shivang Parikh of the Department of Human Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine. In addition to the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov), Assuta, Meir, and Sheba Medical Centers, Drs. Yiftach Gepne...
Read more