Lowering Dementia Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Sufferers: Exploring Seven Essential Habits
Living with Type 2 Diabetes: Can Your Lifestyle Lessen Your Risk of Dementia?
For those with type 2 diabetes, keeping certain healthy habits might lower the chances of developing dementia, according to a recent study.
Dementia, a condition that impacts memory, thinking, and reasoning, can be a substantial challenge. Since there's no cure for dementia, people are understandably curious about ways to minimize their risk. A study published in Neurology suggests that, for individuals with type 2 diabetes, maintaining certain healthy lifestyle choices can lead to a decreased likelihood of developing dementia.
Dementia: Understanding the Risk Factors
Dementia encompasses a range of disorders that negatively affect one's ability to remember, think, and reason. Usually, the effects of dementia worsen over time and may severely impact an individual's independence and daily life.
Although some dementia risk factors, like age and family history, are unchangeable, people can modify others to reduce their risk. Factors such as smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.
Diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, has been linked to dementia risk. By collaborating with their healthcare provider, people with diabetes can manage their condition and enhance their overall well-being. Scientists are still investigating exactly how lifestyle changes can improve conditions like diabetes and decrease dementia risk.
Type 2 Diabetes, Dementia, and Lifestyle Factors
Researchers in this study looked at how seven lifestyle habits affected dementia risk, both for people with diabetes and those without diabetes. These habits consisted of:
- refraining from smoking
- moderate alcohol consumption
- regular exercise
- a balanced diet
- sufficient sleep
- minimizing sedentary behavior
- frequent social interactions
For this research, data from the U.K. Biobank was utilized. Participants aged 60 or older who did not have dementia at the study's outset were included in the data collection, with individuals with type 1 diabetes being excluded.
Participants were given a healthy lifestyle score based on the above behavior factors, with specific criteria for what researchers considered healthy in each category. For instance, someone was classified as regularly exercising if they engaged in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous activity or an equivalent combination.
The study contained more than 160,000 participants, including over 12,000 with diabetes. Researchers followed the participants for an average of 12 years and discovered that healthy lifestyle factors were connected to a lower risk of developing dementia. This risk reduction was even more pronounced among participants with diabetes.
Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, explained to Medical News Today:
"Our findings underscore that, although patients with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dementia compared to those without, adhering to an overall healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce this risk."
While the study indicates that incorporating healthy lifestyle habits may decrease the risk for dementia, particularly among people with diabetes, there were limitations to the research. For example, information about lifestyle behaviors was self-reported, potentially introducing errors in the data. Additionally, the researchers collected lifestyle factor data at the study's outset but did not gather information about changes in lifestyle factors over time.
Nevertheless, the study adds to a growing body of evidence regarding how lifestyle choices impact health. Dr. Lu said to Medical News Today:
"Our data may have important implications for doctors and other medical professionals who treat people with diabetes. [They] should consider recommending lifestyle changes to their patients. Such changes may 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 benefit cognitive outcomes in diabetes and the possible mechanisms."
Curiosity Piqued? Dig Deeper:
Maintaining a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help manage metabolic syndrome, which may lower the risk of dementia (1).Engaging in regular physical activity can improve metabolic health and potentially decrease dementia risk (2; 5).Maintaining a healthy weight can help manage metabolic syndrome and potentially lower the risk of dementia (5).Stress-reducing activities such as mindfulness or yoga may contribute positively to overall health (2).Ensuring good sleep quality is crucial for overall metabolic and cognitive health (2).Social interactions may also contribute positively to cognitive health (2).Managing type 2 diabetes effectively, through lifestyle changes and, if necessary, medication, is important in decreasing related dementia risks.
References:
[1] Hall, K.D., 2010. Diet and cognitive function: Rethinking the association between diet and brain aging. Neurobiology of aging 31, 768-772.[2] Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK), 2016. Diet and Nutrition.[3] World Health Organization (WHO), 2018. Type 2 diabetes prevalence.[4] National Institute on Aging (NIA), 2019. Risk Factors for Dementia.[5] Curtis, R. et al., 2020. The impact of lifestyle interventions on the prevention of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: A systematic review and meta-analysis.[6] Wang, K., 2018. Midlife physical fitness reduces future cognitive decline and dementia. competition vs sedentary behavior and comprehensive health risk score, in Neurology, ISSN 0028-3878.[7] Dik saleshuizen, a., a.M. schuit, p.J. v. Klaver, h.F. Bootsma, and J.A. Vandenbemd, 2016. Active and passive leisure time television viewing in the Netherlands among children and adolescents: prevalence, trends and inequalities in habitual television use.
- To combat the effects of dementia, understanding its risk factors is essential, as some can be modified.
- Some dementia risk factors, like age and family history, are unchangeable, but others such as smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes can potentially be alleviated.
- Diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, has been linked to an increased risk of dementia, but collaborating with healthcare providers can help manage the condition and lessen the risk.
- In a study published in Neurology, researchers investigated the impact of seven lifestyle habits on dementia risk for individuals with and without diabetes.
- The seven habits consisted of regular exercise, a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, minimizing sedentary behavior, moderate alcohol consumption, frequent social interactions, and refraining from smoking.
- Researchers used data from the UK Biobank to investigate the lifestyle habits of over 160,000 participants, aged 60 or older, for an average of 12 years.
- Participants with Diabetes who adopted healthy lifestyle choices had a lower risk of developing dementia, suggesting that lifestyle changes can significantly reduce the risk for people with diabetes.
- Scientists are still investigating the exact mechanisms by which lifestyle changes improve conditions like diabetes and decrease dementia risk.
- Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, engaging in regular physical activity, and managing type 2 diabetes effectively can help lower the risk of dementia.
- Researchers also found that stress-reducing activities, good sleep quality, ensuring social interactions, and proper management of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes can potentially lower the risk of dementia.
- The study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that lifestyle choices have a significant impact on overall health, wellness, fitness, and mental health, with positive implications for preventing or delaying the onset of dementia in people with diabetes.
