Heart health risk factors and lifestyle choices, such as exercise, learning new things and staying socially connected, are associated with maintaining brain health as we age according to a new report from a multi-Institute collaboration of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published online in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
"Many of the factors that can put our brain health at risk are things we can modify and control," said William Thies, PhD, vice president, Medical & Scientific Affairs for the Alzheimer's Association. "This article points to the possibility that healthier living can significantly contribute to reducing the numbers of sick and mentally declining older people, and reduce healthcare costs. To accomplish that, we need more research to show us which specific combinations of lifestyle choices, and also future therapies, will maintain our brain and emotional health."
The study's salient finding from a public health perspective is the importance of controlling cardiovascular (CV) risk factors for maintaining brain health as we age. These are factors that people can change, and they include reducing blood pressure, reducing weight, reducing cholesterol, treating (or preferably avoiding) diabetes, and not smoking.
"Based on our review of CV risk factors, the link between hypertension and cognitive decline was the most robust across studies," said committee chair Hugh Hendrie, MB, ChB, DSc, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine.
A related finding is the close correlation between physical activity and brain health. Three separate, large-scale, observational studies examined by the committee found that elders who exercise are less likely to experience cognitive decline. However, they caution that more research is needed before specific recommendations can be made about which types of exercise and how much exercise are beneficial.
The authors pointed out that "if physical activity were to protect against cognitive deterioration in the elderly, it would be of great public health importance because physical activity is relatively inexpensive, has few negative consequences, and is accessible to most elders." And they said that increasing physical activity "could have a dramatic impact on quality of life and healthcare expenditures at a societal level owing to the large number of elders that could potentially benefit." The authors suggest that "there would be great benefit in conducting a large clinical trial to determine if physical activity, possibly in combination with intellectual activity, can prevent cognitive decline."
"We found surprising consistency across the studies," said committee member Marilyn Albert, PhD, Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Immediate Past Chair of the Alzheimer's Association Medical & Scientific Advisory Council. "In particular, we found that well known risk factors for heart disease also are risk factors for cognitive decline, and that physical activity may reduce risk for cognitive decline and dementia in older adults."
The committee also found that: