Brain-Boosting Activities Tied to Lower Dementia Risk

A seven-year study of older Chinese adults published in JAMA Psychiatry found active participation in intellectual activities is linked to a reduced risk of subsequent dementia, reports MedPage Today . The researchers cited intellectual activities as independent of other lifestyle and health-related factors such as physical exercise, smoking, and nutritional habits. Nearly all participants reported participation in daily leisure activities, but of the 14,233 participants who remained free of dementia, 67 percent noted daily participation in intellectual activities versus 51 percent in the group who later developed the disease. The team observed no association between social or recreational activities and lower dementia risk. "Given the very high level of participation in recreational and social activities in our cohort, a ceiling effect might mask any association with risk of dementia," the authors acknowledge. Still, they suggest that "choosing the right type of activity appears to be more important than engaging in various non-intellectual activities in preventing dementia." However, the researchers concede that their study design does not allow for any conclusions about causality. The study's outcomes revealed that participants who subsequently developed dementia were older, mainly women, and had less education, more comorbidities, and poorer diets.