Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle to Help Prevent Dementia as You Age

About 22 percent of North Americans ages 85–89 and 33 percent of those over 90 suffer some degree of dementia (JAMA Neurol, 2022;79(12):1242-1249).

A study from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, which followed 2,449 men and women over age 65, suggests that there is a lot that you can do to help protect yourself from dementia (BMJ Neurology, April 13, 2022;377:e068390). The healthful lifestyle factors tracked in this study included diet, physical activity, cognitive activity, not smoking, and avoiding or limiting alcohol (less than 15 grams (gm) per day for women, less than 30 gm per day for men). Higher lifestyle scores were associated with a longer life expectancy, and the higher-scoring participants lived a larger proportion of their remaining years without dementia.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota estimate that “The following modifiable risk factors account for about 40 percent of worldwide dementia, which thus could theoretically be prevented or delayed” (JAMA Netw Open, 2022 Jul 1;5(7):e2219672):

Read Full Article Here