WuXi Commod Content Team Editor
It is a happy thing to live longer, live in peace and enjoy life to the fullest. But as we age, the function of various organ systems also degrade, leading to a range of diseases that affect health and even shorten lifespan.
For example, many older adults suffer from dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, a type of neurodegenerative disease that The risk of disease increases exponentially with age, which means that the older you are, the more likely you are to get the disease.
And the brain, has an amazing structure beyond imagination, is the “command” of the human body, which not only complicates dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, There is no cure so far; it also brings harm to the overall health and life of patients, as well as their families.
However, as research and science progress, scientists are discovering that there are some things we can do to improve brain health and reduce the risk of disease. According to a study published in The BMJ, Having 4-5 healthy lifestyles is not only associated with a longer lifespan; Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
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Researchers analyzed data from the Chicago Study of Health and Aging (CHAP), which included 2449 participants aged 65 and older. The average age of the participants was 76 years, and 63% were female.
Researchers looked at participants’ lifestyle information for the previous year, including diet, cognitive activity, physical activity, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. Participants are healthy if their lifestyle meets the following criteria:
Follow the Brain Diet (MIND diet), frequently vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fish, beans meat and poultry, and less or no red meat, desserts, butter, cheese and fried foods;
At least 3 cognitive-boosting activities such as reading, visiting a museum, playing cards, checkers, crosswords, or puzzles;
Regular physical activity, at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or both; p>
Has quit or never smoked;
Little or no alcohol, alcohol intake ≤30 g per day for men and ≤15 g per day for women.
In addition, the researchers looked at participants’ height, weight, education, mutations in the lipoprotein E gene (APOE), and risk factors for depression, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Information such as medical history and treatment history.
During an average follow-up period of more than 6 years, researchers followed up with participants every 3 years to update The above information, and statistics of the participants’ Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and death information.
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A total of 439 participants developed dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, during the follow-up period. After controlling for other factors, researchers found that more healthy lifestyles were associated with a lower risk of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, a lower risk of death, longer life expectancy, and less time spent sick in life expectancy .
Among women there were 2-3 compared to participants with 0-1 healthy lifestyles The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias was 29% and 56% lower in women with 4-5 kinds of healthy lifestyles, respectively; The risk of death from dementia other than Alzheimer’s disease was reduced by 31% and 44%, respectively.
Among men, there were Men with 2-3 and 4-5 healthy lifestyles have 30% and 70% lower risk of dementia such as Alzheimer’s, respectively ;43% and 53% lower risk of death, respectively, due to non-Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Participants’ life expectancy was also associated with a healthy lifestyle.
At age 65, among female participants:
The average life expectancy for all women is 22.5 years, of which 3.7 years, equal to 16.3% will have dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease;
Women with 0-1 healthy lifestyles, average life expectancy of 21.2 years, will have 4.1 years< /strong>(19.3%) will suffer from dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease;
Women with 4-5 healthy lifestyles have a average life expectancy of 24.2 years, compared to only 0-1 Women who lived a healthy lifestyle lived 3.1 more years and lived only 2.6 years (10.8%) with dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Among male participants:
The average life expectancy of all participants was 20.6 years, with 2.3 years (11%) developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia;
Men with 0-1 healthy lifestyles, with an average life expectancy of 17.4 years, will have Alzheimer’s disease 2.1 years (12.0%) of the time Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias;
And men with 4-5 healthy lifestyles have a average life expectancy of 23.1 years, compared to just 0-1 Men who live a healthy lifestyle live 5.7 more years and live only 1.4 years with dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease > (6.1%).
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For people 85 years and older, healthy lifestyle has a significant impact on life expectancy, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. The effect of dementia risk was more pronounced.
At age 85, among female participants:
The average life expectancy of all participants was 7.6 years, and 49.9% (3.8 years) of life expectancy would have Alzheimer’s disease dementia and other dementias;
Participants with 4-5 healthy lifestyles, average life expectancy8.5 years, Dementia such as Alzheimer’s will occur 30.9% (2.6 years) of the time;
Participants with 0-1 healthy lifestyles, with a average life expectancy of 7.2 years, will have 60.3% (4.4 years) of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Among male participants:
The average life expectancy of all participants was 6.6 years, and 37.2% (2.5 years) of life expectancy would have Alzheimer’s disease dementia and other dementias;
Participants with 4-5 healthy lifestyles, average life expectancy of 8.5 years, will have 17.7% (1.5 years) with dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease;
And participants with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles, with average life expectancy of 5.2 years, will have 46.0% (2.4 years) of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
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Because this study is observational, it just shows that a healthy lifestyle is associated with longer lifespan and a lower risk of dementias such as Alzheimer’s, and that increasing lifespan does not Increased time with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, does not indicate cause and effect. There are also limitations to the study, such as lifestyle reliance on participant recall, that may also have an impact on the findings.
As life expectancy increases, more people will develop cognitive impairment or develop dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say. In general, the older you are, the higher the risk, and a healthier lifestyle not only delays the onset of the disease, but also prolongs life without increasing the risk. This suggests that maintaining a healthy lifestyle seems to be a feasible way to live longer, have a healthier brain, and stay away from dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease.