brain decline has a profound impact on the life and relationships of people who develop it. “Being socially active, being an intellectually engaged individual, having recreational time, enjoying a good diet, lacking stress – these are all things that tend to help in avoiding dementia,” says Dr. Lawrence Whalley, author of The Aging Brain and psychiatrist and professor of mental health with the School of Medicine at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen.
How Social Activity Affects Dementia Risk
Studies show that having a fulfilling social life can significantly reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. A study in the February 2007 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry found that lonely people are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. The researchers tested 823 older people for loneliness and gave them a loneliness score of 1 (lowest) to 5. They found that for each point of increase in the loneliness score, the participants had a 51 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Another study, published by The Lancet Neurology, found that social networks (e.g., having close friends, staying in contact with family members) may help protect against the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease. For this study, researchers collected information about the social networks of 89 elderly people. They also tested the participants’ cognition 21 times each year. After the participants died, the researchers analyzed their brains and found that the larger a person’s social network, the less effect tangles and plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease had on his or her cognitive test scores.
SOURCES: Humana, Inc.; JAMA/Archives journals; The Lancet Neurology; Department of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; U.S Department of Health and Human Services