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An Active Mind May Keep
Alzheimer's at Bay
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some research
has suggested that participating in ordinary tasks may stave off
the memory-robbing illness Alzheimer's disease. Now a new study
of Chicago residents shows that people who participate in intellectually
stimulating activities such as reading, listening to the radio
and playing games like checkers and cards are less likely than
their peers to develop Alzheimer's.
Similar results have been found
in a study of Catholic nuns, but the new study included people
selected at random from the general population. In the study,
Dr. Robert S. Wilson of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in
Chicago, Illinois and colleagues looked at 842 black and white
city residents whose average age was 76. All the participants
performed well on memory tests at the beginning of the study,
and the researchers followed up with them an average of four years
later.
They found that those who participated
in mentally challenging activities had a lower risk of Alzheimer's
disease than those who rarely engaged in such activities. Participation
in other types of activities--such as physical exercise--did not
seem to affect Alzheimer's risk.
"On average, a person with infrequent
cognitive activity was two times more likely to develop disease
than a person with frequent cognitive activity," the authors report
in the December 2nd issue of the journal Neurology.
The researchers asked about 7 common
activities, including watching television; listening to the radio;
reading newspapers, magazines and books; playing games, such as
cards, checkers or crosswords or other puzzles; and going to museums.
The amount of time study participants spent doing each activity
was measured on a five-point scale with the lowest level of activity
(rated a "1") for participating in an activity once a year or
less, and the highest (rated a "5") signifying daily or "about
every day" participation.
Physical activities included walking,
running, gardening, dancing, golf, bowling, bike riding and swimming.
The researchers found that a person's
risk for developing Alzheimer's disease decreased by 64% for each
one-point increase on the participation scale when it came to
intellectually stimulating activities. During the study, 139 people
developed Alzheimer's.
The researchers took into account
other factors that influence Alzheimer's disease risk, including
certain genes, age and education.
However, they caution that it's
possible that a small fraction of the people already were in the
early stages of the disease, and may have already altered their
activities due the encroaching illness.
SOURCE: Neurology 2002;59:1910-1914.
Reference
Source 89
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