Health News
Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology explored how seven healthy lifestyle habits can reduce dementia risk in people with diabetes. The study is published in the journal Neurology.
The Study
The research team surveyed a UK biobank. They examined 167,946 people of 60 years of age or older—with or without diabetes or dementia. The participants completed health questionnaires, besides providing physical measurements and blood samples.
On the basis of the responses, the researchers curated a healthy lifestyle score of zero to seven, with one point for each of the seven healthy lifestyle habits. The participants were followed for an average of 12 years.
The seven healthy lifestyle habits include:
- Absence of smoking habits
- Moderate alcohol consumption
- Regular weekly physical activity
- Seven to nine hours of sleep daily
- Healthy diet
- Less sedentary behavior
- Frequent social contact
The Findings
The results revealed that the combination of seven lifestyle habits was associated with a lower risk of dementia in people with Type 2 diabetes. In fact, people who followed all the habits had a 54% lower risk of dementia than those who followed two or fewer.
One of the lead researchers, Yingli Lu, elaborated: “Our research shows that the risk of dementia may be greatly reduced by living a healthier lifestyle. Doctors and other medical professionals who treat people with diabetes should consider recommending lifestyle changes to their patients. Such changes may not only improve overall health but also contribute to prevention or delayed onset of dementia in people with diabetes.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Wang, B., Sun, Y., Tan, X., Zhang, J., Wang, N., & Lu, Y. (2022). Association of Combined Healthy Lifestyle Factors With Incident Dementia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. Neurology, 10.1212/WNL.0000000000201231. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000201231