A two-decade-long study involving over 10,000 women has identified seven key lifestyle choices that can significantly reduce the risk of dementia. The study found that regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking, and keeping blood pressure in check are among the seven factors that contribute to brain health.
These seven factors, dubbed ‘Life’s Simple 7’, also include following a healthy diet, ensuring low blood sugar levels, and managing cholesterol levels. The comprehensive study, which involved 13,720 American women, demonstrated that an overall increase in ‘Simple Seven’ scores corresponded with up to a six per cent decrease in dementia risk.
The authors of the study hope that these health tips will encourage individuals to take proactive steps towards preventing dementia in their later years by making necessary lifestyle changes during their middle age. The research was conducted by the American Academy of Neurology, with the average participant being 54 years old at the start of the study.
The seven health factors, known as the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7, were identified. Participants were given a score of zero for poor or intermediate health and one point for ideal health for each of the seven health factors – amounting to a possible total score of seven.
The study observed the average score fall from 4.3 out of seven at the inception to 4.2 a decade later. After two decades, of the research participants a thumping 1,771 – a significant 13 per cent – had fallen prey to dementia, reports Wales Online.
Reassessing their gathered information for elements like age and education, the investigators unveiled that with every notch increase in one’s overall score, their hazard of acquiring dementia descended by six per cent.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston’s Dr Pamela Rist, who is also an associate of the prestigious American Academy of Neurology, underscored the vitality of employing deterrent approaches against dementia. Dr Rist commented: “Since we now know that dementia can begin in the brain decades before diagnosis, it’s important that we learn more about how your habits in middle age can affect your risk of dementia in old age.”
She continued, “The good news is that making healthy lifestyle choices in middle age may lead to a decreased risk of dementia later in life.”
Although the investigators did concede some limitations in their pioneering study, such as not being able to pinpoint how actions like giving up smoking affected the chances of being stricken by dementia in golden years. Yet, Dr Rist put in a positive note, asserting: “It can be empowering for people to know that by taking steps such as exercising for half an hour a day, or keeping their blood pressure under control, they can reduce their risk of dementia.”
