Reducing the Risk of Dementia for Type 2 Diabetes Sufferers: Adopting Seven Key Practices
Dementia, a disorder affecting memory, thinking, and reasoning, can be a daunting prospect. With no cure currently available, people often ponder ways to reduce their risk of dementia. A recent study published in Neurology sheds some light on this issue for people with type two diabetes.
The Link Between Dementia, Diabetes, and Lifestyle
Dementia is a broad term encompassing various disorders that chip away at a person’s cognitive abilities. It tends to worsen over time and may significantly impair daily life and independence.
Certain factors increase the risk of dementia, such as age and familial history, which cannot be altered. However, people can modify other risk factors, like smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes, especially type two diabetes. Nevertheless, the relationship between diabetes and dementia and the role of healthy lifestyle choices in modifying this risk is a subject of ongoing research.
The Study: Healthy Lifestyle Habits and Dementia Risk
In this study, researchers analyzed how seven healthy lifestyle habits influenced dementia risk. They looked at the impact of these habits on people with diabetes as well as those without diabetes. The habits studied included:
- Quitting smoking
- Moderate alcohol consumption
- Regular physical activity
- Eating a balanced diet
- Getting adequate sleep
- Reducing sedentary behavior
- Maintaining social connections
The researchers used data from the U.K. Biobank, focusing on participants aged 60 or older without dementia at the study’s outset. They specifically excluded individuals with type one diabetes to focus on people with type two diabetes.
To assess lifestyle habits, the researchers assigned participants a healthy lifestyle score based on the seven behavior factors, with each category having a specific definition of what constituted healthy behavior. For example, a person was considered regularly physically active if they engaged in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity, 75 minutes per week of vigorous activity, or an equivalent combination.
The study involved more than 160,000 participants, with over 12,000 having diabetes. Researchers tracked participants for an average of 12 years. They found that adhering to healthy lifestyle habits was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. However, this risk reduction was even more pronounced among participants with diabetes.
An authority on the study, Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, told Medical News Today:
"Our findings suggest that although individuals with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dementia later compared to those without diabetes, adherence to an overall healthy lifestyle significant reduces this risk."
Non-study author and Alzheimer’s researcher, Jeroen Mahieu, Ph.D., also weighed in, stating to MNT:
"The most significant 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 crucial considering the greater prevalence of dementia among diabetes patients. However, due to the nature of the data and the research design, we should exercise caution in interpreting these effects as causal."
Study Limitations and Future Research
While the study suggests that incorporating healthy lifestyle habits may decrease dementia risk, particularly among people with diabetes, it has several limitations.
First, lifestyle behavior information was self-reported, potentially introducing errors in data collection. Second, the researchers collected data on lifestyle factors only at the study’s outset and not on changes in these factors. Additionally, they did not collect data on lifestyle factors for participants before they developed diabetes.
The researchers also acknowledged that they had to exclude participants based on missing data, who were more likely to have lower education and socioeconomic status, which may have impacted the study’s findings. Furthermore, they admitted that there could have been misclassifications of participants with diabetes or prediabetes as without diabetes.
Unknown or unmeasured factors may account for confounding effects, and the study was primarily composed of Caucasian participants, necessitating future, more diverse studies. The researchers concluded that their data may have essential implications for medical professionals who treat people with diabetes and that these professionals should consider recommending lifestyle changes to their patients, as they could not only enhance overall health but also contribute to the prevention or delayed onset of dementia in people with diabetes. More research is needed to understand how combined healthy lifestyle behaviors impact cognitive outcomes in diabetes and the possible underlying mechanisms.
- Despite dementia being a complex disorder affecting memory, thinking, and reasoning, a recent study published in Neurology offers insights into reducing the risk for people with type two diabetes.
- Dementia, a collective term for cognitive disorders that impair a person's abilities, tends to worsen over time and can significantly impact daily life and independence.
- While age and familial history are risk factors that cannot be altered, smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes, particularly type two diabetes, are modifiable risk factors.
- The relationship between diabetes and dementia, as well as the role of healthy lifestyle choices in modifying this risk, is an ongoing area of research.
- In a recent study, researchers analyzed the impact of seven healthy lifestyle habits on dementia risk, focusing on those with type two diabetes and distinguishing them from individuals with type one diabetes.
- These healthy lifestyle habits included quitting smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, regular physical activity, balanced diet, adequate sleep, reduced sedentary behavior, and maintaining social connections.
- Led by Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, the study involved over 160,000 participants, with more than 12,000 having diabetes.
- Over an average of 12 years, the researchers found that adhering to healthy lifestyle habits was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia, especially among people with diabetes.
- While the study's findings suggest that healthy lifestyle habits may decrease dementia risk, particularly among people with diabetes, there are limitations to the research, such as self-reported lifestyle behavior information and potential exclusion of participants based on missing data.
- Non-study author Jeroen Mahieu, Ph.D., an Alzheimer’s researcher, emphasized the need to exercise caution in interpreting the study's effects as causal due to its design.
- Given the study's implications for people with diabetes and the potential for enhancing overall health and preventing or delaying the onset of dementia, medical professionals treating diabetes patients should consider recommending lifestyle changes to their patients. Future research is needed to further understand the mechanisms linking healthy lifestyle behaviors, cognitive outcomes, and diabetes.
