Lifestyle correction slows down dementia development in elderly people

A new study conducted by scientists from Australia and the United Kingdom, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, showed that lifestyle changes can help to improve cognitive abilities in older people with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Specialists selected 119 people over 65 years of age who had a decrease in cognitive function and divided them into two groups - experimental and control. The participants were told how to build a lifestyle in order to reduce the risk of dementia: they were informed about nutrition (mainly Mediterranean diet), physical activity, cognitive training, and then advised to integrate it into their lifestyle. However, the experimental group, in contrast to the control group, received additional sessions from a nutritionist, physiotherapist and received online training on brain development.

After six months of observation, the researchers noted that the participants in the experimental group were able to change their lifestyle to a greater extent than the control group volunteers. As a result, they received higher scores on cognitive functions.

The results showed that lifestyle modification can slow down the development of dementia in old age, the study authors note.

- With the right intervention, people experiencing reduced cognitive function can retain sufficient neuroplasticity to "recover from decline," concludes the study's lead author, Mitchell McMaster, a postgraduate student at the Australian National University.

photo: footandleg.com.au