THE ESSENTIAL
- Researchers studied 2,750 people over the age of 65 for 6 years to understand what factors can help prevent Alzheimer’s risks
- The 5 factors are: eating a healthy diet, quitting smoking, low alcohol, practicing physical and intellectual activity
- The risk of Alzheimer’s is 37% lower in those who have adopted two to three and 60% lower in those who have followed four to five
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The hygiene of life plays a major role on our health. The latest evidence comes from a study by researchers in the department of internal medicine at Rush University School of Medicine (United States). According to their findings, adopting four to five good habits every day is associated with a 60% reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. They published their results in the journal Neurology.
Follow-up over 6 years
The researchers looked for what preventive behaviors can be adopted to reduce the risk of contracting Alzheimer’s. “So far, clinical trials of various therapies in patients with dementia have failed to change the course of the disease, note the authors in the introduction to the study. In contrast, data from epidemiological studies and clinical trials suggest that primary prevention may delay the onset of the disease. Focusing attention on prevention strategies has become a public health priority.”
To conduct their study, the researchers studied the files of 1,845 volunteers over the age of 65 who are part of the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) as well as 920 volunteers from another cohort, The Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP ). In total, 2,750 people were therefore followed by the researchers. They studied their diet, lifestyle, genetic factors and clinical exams related to Alzheimer’s disease. At the end of these six years, 600 of them developed Alzheimer’s.
Five factors of healthy living
By compiling a data set over the six years of observing the lifestyle of the volunteers, the researchers concluded that a combination of factors linked to a healthy lifestyle is essential to fight Alzheimer’s. “Compared to participants with no or only one factor of healthy lifestyle, the risk of Alzheimer’s is 37% lower in those who have adopted two to three, and 60% lower in those who have four at five!”Reports Klodian Dhana who led the study.
Researchers have identified five factors that lead to adopting a healthy lifestyle to prevent Alzheimer’s. The first is 150 minutes – two and a half hours – of moderate to vigorous intensity weekly physical activity. It is best not to smoke and limit your alcohol consumption to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. It is then advisable to take care to have a Mediterranean type diet which favors olive oil, dried fruits, green leafy vegetables, fish, berries, pulses, poultry and whole grains. Finally, the researchers’ last lifestyle advice is to maintain cognitive activity, whether by reading, writing or playing puzzle games.
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