Walking, drinking and gardening can control dementia
Dementia is the primary reason for about 44% of nursing home admissions and it’s a contributing factor in 20% of admissions with these numbers going higher in future as Australia’s population continues to age.
There may be no cure for dementia but to some extent it can be prevented with certain lifestyles being encouraged, with daily walking, moderate drinking, regular mental activity, and gardening being regarded as positive activities.
That’s the conclusion of Australian and Israeli researchers, who followed a group of 2,805 men and women aged 60 years and older from the city of Dubbo, in western New South Wales.
They were given a thorough medical examination and a battery of medical tests and were asked to complete a questionnaire about their education level, alcohol and tobacco use, medications, medical history and levels of physical activity.
The researchers then followed them for 16 years to see how many were admitted to hospital or a nursing home over that period with dementia (the definition of dementia included Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia like vascular dementia).
Of this group, 270 went on to develop dementia and researchers found there were certain lifestyle pursuits that seemed to lower the risk of developing the condition.
There was a 34% lower risk of developing dementia if a person drank a moderate amount of alcohol – the risk was lowest in those who drank 15-28 drinks per week.
Daily walking produced a 38% lower risk of dementia in men (but no significant risk reduction in women). There was a 36% lower risk if they did some gardening every day and made decisions about pruning and garden development. Mental exertion was a positive with activities like socialising, reading and the theatre being associated with reduced risk.
