Lowering Dementia Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Sufferers: Adopting These 7 Habits
Title: Lower Dementia Risk for People with Type 2 Diabetes Through Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Hey there! You might be wondering how to lower your risk of dementia. Well, if you've got type 2 diabetes, things are a bit more intricate—but there's good news! A fresh study published in Neurology shows that practicing certain healthy lifestyle choices can significantly decrease the risk of developing dementia for folks with this condition.
Dementia and Its Risk Factors
Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of disorders affecting memory, thinking, and reasoning. It typically worsens over time and can disrupt daily life and independence. Some risk factors for dementia, like age and family history, can't be altered. However, several modifiable factors can reduce the risk. Factors like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and obesity are risks for Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, is also a risk factor for dementia. Work closely with your doctor to manage your diabetes and overall health. Research is ongoing about how habits and lifestyle changes can improve conditions like diabetes and reduce dementia risk.
Type 2 Diabetes, Dementia, and Lifestyle Factors
The current study investigated how seven healthy lifestyle habits impact dementia risk, focusing on people with and without diabetes. The habits included:
- Quitting smoking
- Moderate alcohol consumption
- Regular physical activity
- Balanced nutrition
- Adequate sleep
- Minimal sedentary behavior
- Frequent social contact
Researchers tapped the U.K. Biobank for data collection. They looked at participants aged 60 and older without dementia at the study's start, excluding individuals with type 1 diabetes.
The team assigned participants a healthy lifestyle score based on their adherence to these habits. For example, someone was seen as physically active if they logged at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of intense exercise.
The study included over 160,000 participants, with more than 12,000 diabetic participants. They monitored participants for an average of 12 years and found that maintaining healthy lifestyle factors was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia, particularly for participants with diabetes.
Study author, Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, mentioned to Medical News Today:
"Our findings highlight that although patients with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dementia later compared with those without, adherence to an overall healthy lifestyle may greatly reduce this risk."
Non-study author and Alzheimer's researcher, Dr. Jeroen Mahieu, Ph.D., noted to Medical News Today:
"The most important finding of this study is that adhering to a healthy lifestyle substantially reduces the risk of developing dementia for diabetes patients, significantly more than when you do not have diabetes. This is important given the greater prevalence of dementia among diabetes patients. Yet, due to the nature of the data and the research design, we should be cautious with interpreting these effects as causal."
Study Limitations and Continued Research
Although the study suggests that cultivating healthy lifestyle habits may decrease dementia risk, particularly for individuals with diabetes, it also had several limitations.
- Information on lifestyle habits was self-reported, increasing the chance of data collection errors.
- The researchers gathered lifestyle factor data at the study's start and didn't collect data on lifestyle factor modifications. The study didn't track lifestyle factors before participants developed diabetes.
- Participants excluded based on missing data were more likely to have lower education and socioeconomic status, which may have influenced the results.
- Some participants with diabetes or prediabetes might have been misclassified as non-diabetic participants.
- Although several confounding factors were accounted for, there could be unknown or unmeasured factors unaccounted for. The study mainly included Caucasian participants, indicating that more diverse studies are needed for the future.
Nevertheless, the study adds to a pool of information regarding the impact of lifestyle choices on health. Dr. Lu explained to Medical News Today:
"Our data may have important implications for doctors, other medical professionals, and those with diabetes. They should consider recommending lifestyle changes to their patients. Such changes might not only improve overall health but also contribute to the prevention or delayed onset of dementia in people with diabetes. Future research is needed to determine how combined healthy lifestyle behaviors affect cognitive outcomes in diabetes and to understand the possible mechanisms."
- The current study investigates the impact of seven healthy lifestyle habits on dementia risk, particularly for individuals with type 2 diabetes.
- The seven habits include quitting smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, minimal sedentary behavior, and frequent social contact.
- Study author, Dr. Yingli Lu, mentions that adhering to healthy lifestyle factors may significantly reduce the risk of developing dementia, especially for participants with diabetes.
- Alzheimer's researcher, Dr. Jeroen Mahieu, notes that the study demonstrates that adhering to a healthy lifestyle substantially reduces the risk of dementia for diabetes patients, more so than for those without diabetes.
- The study's limitations include self-reported lifestyle data, lack of data on lifestyle factor modifications, limited diversity in participants, possible misclassification of diabetes or prediabetes, and unaccounted-for confounding factors.
- Despite these limitations, the study adds to the body of knowledge on the impact of lifestyle choices on health and encourages doctors and medical professionals to recommend lifestyle changes to their patients, as they may contribute to the prevention or delayed onset of dementia in people with diabetes.
- The findings suggest that medical-condition management, such as diabetes, could be supplemented with therapies and treatments focused on health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, and nutrition to reduce the risk of dementia.
- Future research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind the relationship between lifestyle factors and dementia risk in individuals with chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes.
- Medicare and other healthcare providers should fund more studies exploring the role of healthy lifestyle habits in the prevention and management of dementia, particularly among people with type 2 diabetes.
