Two Lifestyles That Can Raise the Risk of Cognitive Problems

We’re all aware of the risks of contracting Alzheimer’s, but there are some ‘accelerants’ that we may not know about.  Here are two of them.

First, being overweight or obese in middle age is associated with an increased risk of later Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia, according to Karolinska Institute researchers.  Their Swedish study was reported recently in the journal Neurology.  Data came from the Swedish Twin Registry, which included 8,500-plus twins over 65 years of age.  Body weights and heights were available for the previous 30 years. 

There were 350 with dementia and a further 114 with possible dementia.  All the twins were classified according to their body mass index (BMI) as obese (over 30), overweight (25-30), normal weight (18-25), or underweight (BMI below 18).

Compared with normal BMI, overweight and obesity at midlife were associated with dementia, with the likelihoods (or odds) being 1.71- and 3.88-times, respectively.  An association between midlife overweight and dementia is therefore strengthened with these data. 

Further analyses were done on twin pairs who had varying body weights during middle age; there was no significant correlation here between overweight/obesity and dementia. This is interpreted to show that genetic and early-life environmental factors may contribute to the mid-life overweight/obesity association.  Whether you’re a twin or not, though, don’t run to fat!

The second lifestyle factor that can contribute to accelerated cognitive decline involves the amount of sleep you get.  Reporting in the journal Sleep, European researchers from University College London assessed sleep duration on approximately 1,500 women and 4,000 men at baseline, and again 5.4 years later.  They also ran a battery of 6 tests of cognitive function, including the MiniMental State Exam (MMSE).

Adverse changes in the duration of sleep from baseline to follow-up roughly 5½    years later might be a decrease from 6, 7, or 8 hours, or an increase from 7 or 8 hours.  Both adverse changes (i.e. more or less sleep) were associated with lower scores on most of the cognitive function tests.  Those who had a decreased duration of sleep scored less well on tests of reasoning, vocabulary, and the MMSE (the usual test used for diagnosing Alzheimer’s).  Those who increased their amount of sleep did poorly on all tests of cognitive function except for the test of verbal memory.

So there are two areas where you can take action to decrease your risk of cognitive decline or eventual dementia – control your weight and get 6 to 8 hours sleep a night, no more and no less.  If necessary, ask for help from your doctor for these lifestyle improvements.  It will be worth it.