Cutting Down Dementia Risk with Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Diabetics
Lowering Dementia Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Sufferers: Adopting These 7 Habits
Got diabetes? You might be at an increased risk for dementia. But don't freak out! Researchers are cranking their brains to understand how lifestyle factors can influence dementia risk. Luckily, a recent study reported in Neurology offers some encouraging news for those with type 2 diabetes.
Dealing with Old Age and Dementia: What You Can Change
Dementia—a condition that messes with your memory, thinking, and reasoning—is a chronic pain that unfortunately doesn’t have a cure. Aside from age and family history, there are a bunch of risk factors for dementia that you can't alter. But guess what? There's plenty you can do to modify your chances!
Keep on living smokeless, maintain a healthy waistline, and steer clear of excessive booze to lower your risk for Alzheimer's and related dementias. And yes, diabetes is also a risk factor for dementia. Working with your doctor to get your diabetes under control is crucial for more reasons than one!
Healthy Habits for a Brainier Future: What the Study Says
The clever cookies in this recent study analyzed how seven healthy lifestyle habits impacted dementia risk. They looked at both people with diabetes and those without. Here's what made the cut:
- Quitting Smoking: Say goodbye to butts and ciggies for good!
- Moderate Drinking: Keep your alcohol intake in check.
- Exercise Regularly: Sweat it out regularly and keep your body in tip-top shape.
- Dizing down on Junk: Opt for a balanced diet over fast food and candy.
- Long Naps: ZZZ's are essential for your gray matter!
- Less Couch Potato: Spend less time parked on the couch and more time on your feet!
- Stay Social: Connect with friends and fam for a healthier brain.
The researchers dug into data from the U.K. Biobank, focusing on participants aged 60 and up who didn't have dementia at the start of the study, AND didn't have type 1 diabetes. They then assigned participants a healthy lifestyle score based on the seven factors mentioned above.
The study included more than 160,000 participants, including more than 12,000 with diabetes. Researchers followed the participants for an average of 12 years and found that healthy lifestyle factors were associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. But this risk reduction was even more evident among participants with diabetes.
Study author, Dr. Yingli Lu, Ph.D., from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, told 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., added:
"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."
Limitations and Avenues for Future Research
Although the study shows that a healthy lifestyle can decrease the risk for dementia—especially among those with type 2 diabetes—the research team noted several limitations.
First, the information on lifestyle behaviors was self-reported and opened the door for errors. Second, the researchers did not gather data on lifestyle factor changes and did not have data about lifestyle factors before participants developed diabetes.
The researchers also acknowledged that they needed to exclude participants based on missing data, who were more likely to have lower education and socioeconomic status. These factors may have impacted the results. Based on the data collection methods, the research team admits that they could have misclassified participants with diabetes or prediabetes as not having diabetes.
They also mentioned that although several confounding factors were adjusted for, there could be unknown or unmeasured factors unaccounted for. The study included mainly Caucasian participants, suggesting that more diverse studies will be needed in the future.
However, the study adds to a body of research demonstrating that lifestyle choices contribute significantly to our 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."
- The study in Neurology suggests that maintaining a healthy lifestyle, particularly for those with type 2 diabetes, can reduce the risk of developing dementia.
- Quitting smoking, moderate drinking, regular exercise, balanced nutrition, long naps, less sedentary behavior, and maintaining social connections are seven healthy lifestyle habits that can decrease the risk of dementia.
- Although a healthy lifestyle can lower dementia risk, the study's data shows that people with diabetes may experience a more significant risk reduction compared to those without diabetes.
- Dr. Yingli Lu from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine reported that adhering to a healthy lifestyle could greatly reduce the risk of developing dementia for diabetes patients.
- However, the study had limitations, such as self-reported lifestyle data, missing data due to exclusion criteria, and lack of information on lifestyle factor changes and pre-diabetes status.
- The research team also acknowledged potential misclassification of participants with diabetes or prediabetes, as well as unaccounted-for confounding factors and the need for more diverse studies in the future.
- Despite these limitations, this study, along with others, underscores the importance of lifestyle choices in overall health and potential prevention or delay of chronic diseases such as dementia, type-2 diabetes, and mental health conditions.
