United Kingdom: A decade-long study has found that a combination of healthy lifestyle choices such as eating well, regularly exercising, playing cards, and socialising at least twice a week may help slow the rate of memory decline as well as reduce the risk of dementia.

The new study published in the journal BMJ suggests that combining multiple healthy lifestyle choices is linked with slowing the speed of memory decline.

“A combination of positive healthy behaviours is associated with a slower rate of memory decline in cognitively normal older adults,” researchers from the National Center for Neurological Disorders in Beijing, China, remarked.

“Practising multiple healthy lifestyle choices concurrently was associated with a lower risk of progression to mild cognitive impairment and dementia,” the researchers added.

The research was done by analysing 29,000 adults aged over 60 with normal cognitive function who were part of the China Cognition and Aging Study.

At the beginning of the study, which started in 2009, memory function was measured using tests, and people were checked for the APOE gene, which is the strongest risk factor gene for Alzheimer’s disease. The subjects were then monitored for 10 years with periodic assessments.

A healthy lifestyle score combining six factors was calculated, including a healthy diet, regular exercise, active social contact, cognitive activity, non-smoking, and not drinking alcohol.

Participants were divided into favourable (four to six healthy factors), average (two to three healthy factors), and unfavourable (0 to one healthy factor) lifestyle groups, as well as APOE-carrier and non-carrier groups, based on their score, which ranged from zero to six.

According to the BMJ report, people with four to six healthy behaviours or two to three were almost 90 percent and almost 30 percent less likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment relative to those who were the least healthy.

Dr. Susan Mitchell, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, commented that “this is a well-conducted study that followed people over a long period of time and adds to the substantial evidence that a healthy lifestyle can help to support memory and thinking skills as we age.”

“Too few of us know that there are steps we can all take to reduce our chances of dementia in later life,” Dr. Mitchell added.

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