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Socializing Reduces Dementia Risk

by Dr. Navapriya S on Jan 31 2025 12:03 PM
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Want to improve brain health? Studies show that older adults who engage in more social activities have a lower risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

Socializing Reduces Dementia Risk
Attending church, parties, and visiting friends may all support brain health. Regular social interaction can help postpone or prevent dementia in later life.
Bryan James, PhD, an associate professor of internal medicine at Rush, stated, "This study is a follow-up on previous papers from our group showing that social activity is related to less cognitive decline in older adults."

According to this study, older persons who are less socially active had dementia on average five years earlier than those who are more socially active, and social participation is linked to a higher risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment(1 Trusted Source
Late-life social activity and subsequent risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment

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).

Social Interaction Linked to Reduced Dementia Risk

Neural networks in the brain can be strengthened through social interaction, increasing their resistance to the accumulation of pathology that comes with aging. The brain regions responsible for thinking and memory are also activated by social interaction.

The results emphasize the importance of social interaction as a potential community-level dementia prevention strategy.

The findings suggest that more frequent social activity points to a 38% reduction in dementia risk and a 21% reduction in mild cognitive impairment risk, compared to the least socially active.

In addition, a five-year delay in dementia onset has been estimated to yield an additional three years of life and an economic benefit of reducing dementia costs by 40% in the next 30 years, potentially $500,000 in lifetime health care savings for each person who would eventually develop dementia.

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The study included 1,923 dementia-free older adults with a mean age of about 80 who are participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, an ongoing longitudinal study of common chronic conditions of aging.

A total of 545 participants developed dementia, and 695 developed mild cognitive impairment. They each underwent yearly evaluations that included a medical history and neuropsychological tests.

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Social activity was measured based on a questionnaire that asked participants whether, and how often, in the previous year they had engaged in six common social activities that involve social interaction — for example, whether they went to restaurants or sporting events, played bingo, took day or overnight trips, did volunteer work or visited relatives or friends.

Social Activity May Help Delay Cognitive Decline

Cognitive function was assessed using 21 tests for various types of memory as well as perceptual speed and visuospatial ability.

At the start of the investigation, all participants were free of any signs of cognitive impairment. Over an average of five years, however, those who were more socially active showed reduced rates of dementia. Other variables that might have accounted for the increase in cognitive decline — such as age, physical exercise and health — were all adjusted for in the analysis.

Why social activity plays a role in the development of cognitive problems is not clear. 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,’” James said.

Future research is needed to determine whether interventions aimed at increasing late-life social activity can play a part in delaying or preventing cognitive decline, James said.

Other researchers at Rush involved in the study were Yi Chen, PhD, Francine Grodstein, ScD, Ana Capuano, PhD, Tianhao Wang, PhD, and David Bennett, MD.

Reference:
  1. Late-life social activity and subsequent risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment- (https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.14316)


Source-Eurekalert


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