AFP – Preventing dementia is a critical concern on both societal and individual levels.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed each year.
A recent American study suggests that staying socially engaged may play a vital role in lowering the risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
Published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, research from Rush University highlights the importance of regular social interaction in maintaining brain health.
The study found that leading an active social life could significantly reduce the likelihood of cognitive decline in older adults.
To reach these findings, researchers tracked 1,923 individuals with an average age of 80, all of whom had no cognitive impairments at the start of the study.
They followed the participants over five years, during which each participant was given neuropsychological tests and a questionnaire on the frequency of social activities (ie visits to friends, restaurant outings, participation in leisure activities etc).
Maintaining a dynamic social life helped the seniors reduce their risk of dementia by 38 per cent and mild cognitive impairment by 21 per cent.
But the benefits go far beyond this. The study authors claim that delaying the onset of dementia by five years could extend life expectancy by three years.
Such a delay would also contribute to a 40 per cent reduction in the costs associated with dementia care over the next 30 years, generating significant savings for public health.
Why is there such a strong link between social activity and cognition?
One hypothesis is that interacting with others forces us to adapt, understand and react to a variety of situations. This process stimulates the brain’s neural circuits, strengthening their resistance to ageing-related alterations.
“Social activity challenges older adults to participate in complex interpersonal exchanges, which could promote or maintain efficient neural networks in a case of ‘use it or lose it’,” explains study co-author and associate professor of internal medicine Dr Bryan James in a statement.
While these results are encouraging, they are nonetheless preliminary. Future research will need to determine whether specific interventions promoting social activity in the elderly could be an effective strategy for preventing cognitive decline.
In the meantime, one thing is certain: maintaining social relationships could be as beneficial for the brain as physical exercise is for the body.
A Japanese study, published in 2023 in the journal Neurology, reveals that elderly people with little social contact have an increased risk of reduced brain volume in regions affected by dementia.
However, the researchers behind the study point out that these results highlight a correlation, without demonstrating that social isolation leads directly to brain shrinkage.
Hence, the importance of maintaining an active social life at all ages, not only for emotional well-being, but also as a potential protective factor against cognitive decline.
