Reading a book, spending time with family and friends, crafts, yoga, sports, and volunteering are some of the activities a person can do more often to reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in general, shows a new study Chinese scientists. Mental-cognitive activities bring the greatest benefit, followed by physical and social activities.

Researchers led by Professor Ling Lu of Peking University Sixth Hospital and IDG Brain Institute/McGovern Institute, who published in the American Academy of Neurology journal Neurology, conducted a broad systematic review and meta-analysis of all available international studies on the impact of various activities (mental, physical, social ) at risk of developing dementia.

Previous research has shown that leisure time activities are associated with various health benefits, such as a lower risk of cancer or heart arrhythmia, but it was still unclear whether this also applies to dementia. A new study confirms that leisure reduces the likelihood of developing dementia to a greater or lesser extent.

The researchers evaluated 38 studies from around the world that included a total of more than two million people who did not have dementia at the start of the studies and were then followed up for at least three years. Participants provided information about their activities either through interviews or through questionnaires. During the studies, 74,700 people were diagnosed with dementia (including 2,848 with Alzheimer’s disease).

The conclusion of the new study is that people who engaged in a variety of activities in their spare time, doing things that gave them pleasure on a mental-cognitive, physical or social level, had an average 17% lower risk of developing dementia later in life. compared to those who did not.

The greatest reduction in dementia risk (23%) is seen in those who primarily engage in intellectual activities such as reading and writing for pleasure, watching TV, listening to the radio, playing board games or musical instruments, using a computer, needlework, etc. .

A 17% reduction in the risk of developing dementia is achieved through physical activities such as walking, running, swimming, cycling, gymnastics, sports, yoga and dancing. A 7% reduction in the risk of developing dementia comes from social activities, such as more frequent communication with relatives and friends, attending educational seminars, participating in social clubs and groups, volunteering, attending religious and church events, etc.

“This meta-analysis shows that there are benefits to being active, and there are many activities that are easy to incorporate into daily life and that may be good for the brain,” Dr. Lu said.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, and this number is expected to rise significantly in the future.

^{Source: APE-MEB}