▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
Living longer, living in peace, and enjoying life to the fullest is a happy thing. But as we age, the function of various organ systems also deteriorates, and a series of diseases appear, affecting health and even shortening lifespan.
For example, many elderly people will suffer from Dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, which is a type of neurodegenerative disease that seriously damages brain health, and the risk of disease increases exponentially with age, which means that the older you are, the more likely you are to get sick.
The brain, with an amazing structure beyond imagination, is the "headquarters" of the human body, which not only makes Dementia such as Alzheimer's disease complex and difficult to solve, but also brings harm to the overall health and life of patients, as well as family members.
However, as research and science progress, scientists have discovered that there are things we can do to promote brain health and reduce the risk of disease. According to a study published in the British Medical Journal (The BMJ), having 4-5 healthy lifestyles is not only related to a longer lifespan; it is also not easy to suffer from dementias such as Alzheimer's disease in an extended lifespan.
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The researchers analyzed data from the Chicago Health and Aging Study (CHAP) and included a total of 2449 participants aged 65 and older. The average age of the participants was 76 years old, and 63% were women.
The researchers counted the 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 a brain-healthy diet (MIND diet), often eating vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fish, legumes and poultry, with little or no red meat, desserts, butter, cheese and fried foods;
Engage in at least 3 cognitive activities such as reading, visiting museums, playing cards, checkers, crossword puzzles or puzzles;
Regular physical activity, with at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity per week, or at least 75 minutes of intense intensity, or an equivalent amount of physical activity;
have quit smoking or never smoked;
Drinking small amounts or never drinking alcohol, alcohol intake ≤ 30 g per day for men and 15 g per day for women ≤.
In addition, the researchers also counted the participants' height, weight, education, lipoprotein E gene (APOE) mutations, as well as information such as depression, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer history and treatment history.
During a follow-up period lasting an average of more than 6 years, the researchers followed up the participants every 3 years to update the above information and count the participants' illness and death from dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.
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During the follow-up period, a total of 439 participants developed dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. After removing other factors, the researchers found that more healthy lifestyles were associated with a lower risk of dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, a lower risk of death, a longer life expectancy, and less time spent on the disease in life expectancy.
Among women, women with 2-3 and 4-5 healthy lifestyles had a 29% and 56% lower risk of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, respectively, and a 31% and 44% lower risk of death from dementias such as non-Alzheimer's disease, compared to participants with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles.
Among men, men with 2-3 and 4-5 healthy lifestyles had a 30% and 70% lower risk of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, respectively, and a 43% and 53% lower risk of death from dementias such as non-Alzheimer's disease, respectively, compared with participants with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles.
The life expectancy of the participants was also associated with a healthy lifestyle.
At the age of 65, among the female participants:
The average life expectancy of all women is 22.5 years, of which 3.7 years, which equates to 16.3% of life expectancy, dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Women with 0-1 healthy lifestyle, with an average life expectancy of 21.2 years, will have 4.1 years (19.3%) of the time they will have dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Women with 4-5 healthy lifestyles have an average life expectancy of 24.2 years, which will live 3.1 years longer than women with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles, and only 2.6 years (10.8%) of dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.
Among male participants:
The average life expectancy of all participants was 20.6 years, with 2.3 years (11%) having dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Men with 0-1 healthy lifestyle, with an average life expectancy of 17.4 years, will have 2.1 years (12.0%) of the time they will have dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Men with 4-5 healthy lifestyles have an average life expectancy of 23.1 years, which will live 5.7 years longer than men with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles, and have only 1.4 years (6.1%) of dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.
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For people aged 85 and older, the impact of a healthy lifestyle on life expectancy and the risk of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease is more pronounced.
At the age of 85, among the female participants:
The average life expectancy of all participants was 7.6 years, and 49.9% (3.8 years) of life expectancy would have dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Participants with 4-5 healthy lifestyles, with an average life expectancy of 8.5 years, will have 30.9% (2.6 years) of the time with dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Participants with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles, with an average life expectancy of 7.2 years, will have 60.3% (4.4 years) of the time with 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 the life expectancy would have dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Participants with 4-5 healthy lifestyles, with an average life expectancy of 8.5 years, will have 17.7% (1.5 years) of the time they will have dementia such as Alzheimer's disease;
Participants with only 0-1 healthy lifestyles, with an average life expectancy of 5.2 years, will have 46.0% (2.4 years) of the time with dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.
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Since this study was an observational study, it only showed that healthy lifestyles are associated with longer lifespans and a reduced risk of dementias like Alzheimer's, as well as that extending life expectancy does not increase the amount of time spent with dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, and does not suggest a causal relationship. And the study also has some limitations, such as lifestyle dependence on participant recall, which may also have an impact on the results.
The researchers point out that as life expectancy increases, more and more people will develop cognitive impairment or develop dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. Usually the older the age, the higher the risk of disease, and a healthier lifestyle will not only delay the occurrence of disease, but also prolong life while not increasing the risk of disease. This suggests that sticking to a healthy lifestyle seems like a viable way to live longer, have a healthier brain, and stay away from dementias like Alzheimer's disease.