Diabetes Type 2 and Dementia: Adopting These 7 Habits Could Potentially Reduce the Risk for Developing Dementia
Each year, dementia affects millions worldwide, and its progression can lead to severe disability and impaired independence. With no known cure for dementia, understanding and modifying risk factors is paramount for reducing the chances of developing the condition.
A recent study published in Neurology discovered that adopting a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk of dementia, particularly among individuals with type 2 diabetes. Researchers evaluated seven habits, including regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy diet, and less sedentary behavior, and found that these lifestyle choices significantly reduced dementia risk.
Dementia is a collective term for disorders that affect memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities. As dementia progresses, it can greatly impact daily life and independence. Some risk factors, such as age and family history, cannot be altered. However, modifiable factors like smoking, obesity, and excessive alcohol consumption can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Diabetes is also associated with an increased risk of dementia, especially type 2 diabetes.
The U.K. Biobank acquired data from over 160,000 participants, consisting of more than 12,000 with type 2 diabetes, for this study. Participants were 60 years or older and did not have dementia at the study's inception. Researchers excluded participants with type 1 diabetes to focus on the correlation between type 2 diabetes and dementia.
Participants were given a healthy lifestyle score based on their adherence to the seven aforementioned habits. The score considered specific thresholds for each habit (e.g., 150 minutes of moderate activity per week). Over an average of 12 years, researchers found that those with higher healthy lifestyle scores had a lower risk of developing dementia, with the reduction being more pronounced among individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Study author Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, highlighted the significance of these findings:
"Our findings underscore the fact that while patients with diabetes are at a higher risk for dementia, adhering to a healthy lifestyle can greatly reduce this risk."
Jeroen Mahieu, Ph.D., a non-study researcher in Alzheimer's research, emphasized the importance of interpreting the study's effects cautiously:
"The key finding of this study is that adhering to a healthy lifestyle significantly reduces the risk of developing dementia for diabetes patients. This is significant due to the higher prevalence of dementia among diabetes patients. However, it's essential to exercise caution when interpreting these effects as causal."
The study has several limitations. Data on lifestyle behaviors was self-reported and did not take into account changes in lifestyle factors or data before participants developed diabetes. Additionally, participants who were excluded due to missing data may have had lower education and socioeconomic status, which may have influenced the results.
In conclusion, while the precise lifestyle choices for people with type 2 diabetes that minimize dementia risk are still under investigation, this study suggests that adopting a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk. Future research should focus on the impact of combined healthy lifestyle habits on cognitive outcomes and further explore the underlying mechanisms at play.
- Understanding and modifying risk factors for dementia, such as adopting a healthy lifestyle, is crucial for reducing the chances of developing the condition, especially in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Researchers found that individuals with type 2 diabetes who regularly engaged in physical activity, maintained a healthy diet, and reduced sedentary behavior had a significantly lower risk of dementia.
- Dementia, a disorder that affects memory, thinking, and reasoning, can lead to severe disability and impaired independence as it progresses.
- The study's authors, including Dr. Yingli Lu from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, contend that adhering to a healthy lifestyle can greatly reduce the risk of dementia for diabetes patients.
- Jeroen Mahieu, a researcher in Alzheimer's research, advises that while the study suggests a reduction in dementia risk for diabetes patients with healthy lifestyles, it's essential to exercise caution when interpreting these effects as causal.
- The study had limitations, such as self-reported data on lifestyle behaviors and potential impacts of missing data from participants with lower education and socioeconomic status.
- Future research should investigate the impact of combined healthy lifestyle habits on cognitive outcomes and explore the underlying mechanisms at play in the relationship between type 2 diabetes and dementia.
- Beyond lifestyle choices, science continues to address the complex medical-conditions and chronic-diseases, like type-2 diabetes and dementia, related to health-and-wellness, mental-health, nutrition, fitness-and-exercise, and therapies-and-treatments.
