This Surprisingly Easy Habit May Reduce Your Dementia Risk By 38%

Alzheimer’s isn’t as genetically determined as you might think, and the medical journal The Lancet says that up to 45% of dementia cases are “potentially preventable” by addressing 14 lifestyle factors. 

Those include not smoking, not drinking too much, and staying active. 

The publication also says that staying socially active is a great way to protect our brain health, especially later in life. 

And now, research from scientists at the Rush University Medical Center suggests that the habit may delay dementia diagnosis by up to five years and could even cut dwmentirisk by 38%.

How does socialising affect dementia risk?

This study focused on older adults (the average age was 80) who didn’t have dementia at the start of the study. 

The research, which followed 1,923 older adults who were part of the Rush Memory and Ageing Project, saw 545 participants develop dementia during the ongoing study. 

695 developed cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia. 

Researchers found a correlation (but not a cause) between participants who self-reported busier social lives and a 38% reduced risk of developing dementia, compared to those who said they didn’t socialise much. 

It was also linked to a 21% reduction in cognitive impairment risk. 

Even self-reported heavy socialisers who did go on to develop dementia seemed to do so five years later than the most isolated participants. 

Dr Bryan James, a co-author of the study, told Rush University: “Social activity challenges older adults to participate in complex interpersonal exchanges, which could promote or maintain efficient neural networks in a case of ‘use it or lose it.’”

Does that mean I’ll definitely develop dementia if I don’t socialise?

No ― this study just found an association and not a cause. That means they’ve found a link between A and B, but can’t prove that A definitely leads to B.

However, it’s far from the only research to link isolation to decreased brain health and dementia. 

Alzheimer’s Society puts the importance of staying social even higher ― they say that social isolation “can increase a person’s risk of dementia by about 60%.”

They suggest that this could be because of the brain-strengthening benefits of socialising itself, and/or because of the way loneliness can affect our behaviour ― “Lonely people are more likely to drink heavily, smoke, not exercise and be overweight and have heart problems all of which increase dementia risk.” 

Meanwhile, The Lancet puts it at a more modest 5% risk increase for older adults. 

The Rush University scientists stress the importance of further research in their paper.