Habits that Potentially Reduce the Risk of Dementia for Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes
Living with type 2 diabetes could potentially lead to an increased risk of dementia, but researchers are still trying to figure out how various lifestyle factors can affect this risk. Recent research shows that people with diabetes might actually have a lower risk of developing dementia if they adopt healthy habits.
Dealing with Dementia: The Search for Answers
Dementia is a neurological condition that affects memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities. As there's no cure for dementia, many are wondering what steps they can take to lower their risk of developing it.
Some risk factors, such as age and genetics, can't be changed. However, other factors, like smoking, excessive drinking, obesity, and diabetes, are modifiable. Managing diabetes is crucial for overall health, and research is ongoing to understand how healthy lifestyle changes can improve the situation and reduce dementia risk.
Diabetes and Dementia: Lifestyle Matters
In their study, researchers looked at how seven healthy lifestyle habits affected dementia risk, both for people with diabetes and those without. These habits included:
- No Smoking: Quitting smoking is well-known for its positive impact on health.
- Moderate Drinking: Some alcohol consumption may have health benefits, but excessive drinking is harmful.
- Regular Exercise: Regular physical activity is vital for maintaining good health and cognitive function.
- Healthy Diet: Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins is crucial for managing diabetes and reducing dementia risk.
- Enough Sleep: Sleep is essential for overall health and proper brain function.
- Less Sedentary Behavior: Limiting sedentary activities, like sitting for prolonged periods, may decrease dementia risk.
- Frequent Social Interaction: Engaging in social activities can contribute to better cognitive health.
To gather data, the researchers utilized the U.K. Biobank and included participants aged 60 or older without dementia at the beginning of the study. They also excluded people with type 1 diabetes so they could focus on those with type 2 diabetes.
The researchers assigned each participant a healthy lifestyle score based on their adherence to these seven behavior factors. For example, someone was classified as engaging in regular physical activity if they had at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
The study included over 160,000 participants, including more than 12,000 with diabetes. Researchers followed the participants for an average of 12 years and found that an overall healthy lifestyle was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. This association was even stronger among participants with diabetes.
Study author Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, explained to Medical News Today:
"Our findings suggest 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."
While this study offers promising insights, non-study author and Alzheimer's researcher Jeroen Mahieu, Ph.D., noted:
"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 don't have diabetes. However, due to the nature of the data and the research design we should be cautious with interpreting these effects as causal."
Study Limitations and Future Research
Although the study indicates that adopting healthy lifestyle habits may lower dementia risk, particularly among people with diabetes, it also had some limitations.
For example, lifestyle data was self-reported, which increases the risk of errors in data collection. Additionally, the researchers only collected lifestyle factor data at the beginning of the study, not changes in lifestyle factors over time, and they did not collect data about lifestyle factors before participants developed diabetes.
The researchers also acknowledged that a significant number of participants had to be excluded due to missing data, and these participants were more likely to have lower education and socioeconomic status, potentially impacting the results. Furthermore, the study team admitted that they may have misclassified some participants with diabetes or prediabetes as not having diabetes.
These limitations aside, the study adds to the growing body of evidence about how lifestyle choices impact health and cognitive function. Dr. Lu explained 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, as these 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 behind these effects."
- The neurological condition, dementia, affects memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities, and though it is currently incurable, researchers continue to seek ways to lower the risk of its development.
- Some risk factors, such as age and genetics, are beyond a person's control, but others, including smoking, excessive drinking, obesity, and diabetes, can be modified.
- In the study, researchers focused on seven healthy lifestyle habits and their impact on dementia risk, considering both people with and without diabetes.
- Quitting smoking, moderate drinking, regular exercise, a healthy diet, sufficient sleep, less sedentary behavior, and frequent social interaction are the seven lifestyle factors under investigation.
- Data for the study was obtained from the U.K. Biobank, specifically participants aged 60 or older without dementia at the study's outset.
- Researchers excluded people with type 1 diabetes to examine the effects more closely on those with type 2 diabetes.
- A healthy lifestyle score was created for each participant based on their adherence to the seven behavior factors.
- The study followed over 160,000 participants, including more than 12,000 with type 2 diabetes, for an average of 12 years and found that a healthy lifestyle was associated with a lower risk of dementia.
- Study author Dr. Yingli Lu suggested that, although people with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dementia, adhering to a healthy lifestyle can greatly reduce this risk.
- Alzheimer's researcher Jeroen Mahieu conceded that the study offers an interesting insight but urged caution in interpreting the effects as causal, due to the nature of the data and research design.
- Future research is required to understand the combined effects of healthy lifestyle behaviors on cognitive outcomes and the mechanisms behind those effects, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes.