A new Chinese scientific study shows that a range of healthy habits, including good sleep, frequent social contact and regular exercise, may reduce the risk of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes. A second British study confirms that a healthy lifestyle nearly halves the risk of dementia in diabetics.

In particular, these seven healthy habits are: quitting smoking, moderate alcohol consumption (up to one drink per day for women and two for men), regular exercise (at least 2.5 hours per week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity). , get enough sleep (seven to nine hours), eat healthy foods (lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but little meat), be as sedentary as possible (watch no more than four hours of TV a day), and use social media frequently . contacts (participation in gatherings with friends or relatives at least once a month and in other social events at least once a week).

Researchers led by Dr. Yingli Lu of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, who published the data in the American Academy of Neurology’s journal Neurology, analyzed data from almost 168,000 people over 60 with and without diabetes. did not have dementia at baseline and were followed up for a median of 12 years. During this period, dementia was diagnosed in 4351 people. 4% of people did not adhere to any of the two healthy habits, 11% – three, 22% – four, 30% – five, 24% – six and 9% – all seven.

It found that diabetics who followed no more than two healthy habits were four times more likely to develop dementia than those who followed all seven. People with diabetes who followed all seven habits were 74% more likely to develop dementia compared to people without diabetes who followed all seven healthy habits.

Among diabetics who followed all seven habits, there were only 21 cases of dementia, or just 0.28 percent, compared to 0.69 percent among those who followed no more than two healthy habits. After controlling for other factors (age, educational level, etc.), it was calculated that diabetics who followed all healthy habits had an average 54% lower risk of developing dementia than those who followed up to two habits. It was estimated that each additional healthy habit was associated with an 11 percent reduction in the risk of developing dementia.

Remarkably, the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and the likelihood of dementia was not affected by the medication someone was taking or how well their blood sugar was controlled.

“Type 2 diabetes is a global epidemic that affects one in ten adults and is known to increase the risk of dementia. We explored whether a broad combination of healthy lifestyle habits could offset this increased risk of dementia and found that indeed people with diabetes who incorporate the seven healthy habits into their lives have a lower risk of developing dementia than people with diabetes who do not. healthy lifestyle. Our study clearly shows that in people with type 2 diabetes, the risk of developing dementia can be significantly reduced if they lead a healthy lifestyle. “Physicians treating people with diabetes should recommend these lifestyle changes to their patients,” Lu said.

British study

Researchers at the University of Glasgow, who made the announcement at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting in Stockholm, analyzed data from 445,364 people with an average age of 56 who were followed for an average of nine years.

All had no diagnosed dementia at baseline, while 24,735 (5.5%) had type 2 diabetes. their sleep duration, alcohol consumption, smoking or not, their diet (unhealthy/healthy), etc.

Both diabetes and an unhealthy lifestyle have been found to be associated with an increased risk of dementia. Diabetics were 33% more likely to develop dementia later in life than people without diabetes. People with the least healthy lifestyles had a 65% greater risk of developing dementia compared to those with the healthiest lifestyles.

The healthier the diabetic’s lifestyle was, the lower the likelihood of developing dementia in the future. People with diabetes and healthy lifestyles are on average 45% less likely (almost half the risk) to be diagnosed with dementia compared to diabetics who lead an unhealthy lifestyle.

Link to scientific publication: https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2022/09/14/WNL.0000000000201231

Source: RES-EMI