Lowering Dementia Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: Habits to Consider
Living with Type 2 Diabetes and Dementia:* Individuals with type 2 diabetes may experience an increased risk for dementia.* Research strives to comprehend how lifestyle decisions can impact dementia risk.* According to fresh findings, people with type two diabetes face a reduced risk for dementia when they're living healthier lifestyles.
Dementia, a persistent condition, can be disheartening, as it lacks a cure. So, it's normal to be curious about ways to decrease one's risk of developing dementia. In a recently unveiled study featured in the tech-savvy Neurology, researchers uncovered that for those with diabetes, adopting certain healthy lifestyle practices might result in a decreased risk of dementia.
The Link Between Dementia and Lifestyle Choices
Dementia is a blanket term for disorders that impair people's ability to recall, think, and reason. It usually worsens over time and can substantially disrupt everyday life and independence.
There are some risk factors for dementia that can't be modified, such as advanced age or family history. However, there are other factors that people can adjust to lower risk. Smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol, and diabetes are all risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, can also raise dementia risk. Collaborating with healthcare professionals to manage diabetes condition and overall health is vital. The scientific community is still working on understanding the role of healthy lifestyle adjustments in diabetes and dementia risk.
Healthy Living for Diabetics: Lower Dementia Risk
The current study investigated how seven lifestyle habits could impact dementia risk, taking both diabetics and non-diabetics into account. Those habits included:
- Slashing tobacco use
- Moderate boozing
- Regular sweat sessions
- Munching on a balanced diet
- Sleeping soundly
- Less sitting around
- Snuggling more with folks
Conducted using the comprehensive U.K. Biobank, the study reviewed participants aged 60 and above, all free from dementia at the outset of the study. To narrow the scope, participants with type 1 diabetes were excluded from data collection.
The participants were scored on their adherence to the seven lifestyle behaviors. Each category featured a definition of what constituted "healthy." For instance, someone was considered "regularly physically active" if they clocked at least 150 minutes/week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes/week of intense exercise, or the equivalent.
Altogether, the study consisted of over 160,000 participants, more than 12,000 of whom had diabetes. The researchers monitored participants over an average period of 12 years and concluded that healthy lifestyle factors lowered the risk of developing dementia. This risk reduction was even more pronounced among participants with diabetes.
According to study author, Dr. Yingli Lu, "Our findings accentuate that even though patients with diabetes face a heightened risk of developing dementia compared to those without, following an overall healthy lifestyle may substantially reduce this risk."
Non-study author and Alzheimer's researcher, Dr. Jeroen Mahieu, cautiously commented, "The most significant finding of this study is that adhering to a healthy lifestyle markedly reduces the risk of dementia for diabetes patients; significantly more than for those without diabetes. This is relevant considering the greater prevalence of dementia among diabetes patients. However, due to the nature of data collection and the research design, we should exercise caution while interpreting these effects as causal."
Limitations and Future Research
While the study suggests that embracing healthy lifestyle choices may decrease the risk of dementia, particularly among people with diabetes, it did have certain limitations.
First, participants' lifestyle behaviors were self-reported, upping the chances of data collection errors. Second, the researchers failed to collect data on modifications in lifestyle behaviors. Moreover, they didn't scrutinize lifestyle factors for participants before they were diagnosed with diabetes.
Furthermore, the research team realized that individuals they had to eliminate due to missing data were more likely to have lower education and socioeconomic status, which might have affected the results. Additionally, researchers might have misclassified participants with diabetes or prediabetes as non-diabetic.
Considering the data collection methods, the researchers admitted that they could have misinterpreted the participants with diabetes or prediabetes as non-diabetic. In addition, they acknowledged that certain unknown or unmeasured factors could have been overlooked.
Lastly, although several potential confounding factors were accounted for, unknown confounders and forgetting stress, depression, or social isolation could have impacted the results [7][8].
Yet, these findings join the broader conversation about how lifestyle choices shape health. Dr. Lu highlighted the potential implications for medical professionals, stating, "Our data may offer important insights for doctors, and others in the healthcare field, who treat people with diabetes. [These professionals] should consider advising lifestyle interventions to their patients. Such lifestyle modifications could benefit overall health while contributing to the prevention or delayed onset of dementia in people with diabetes. Future research is required to ascertain how combined healthy lifestyle behaviors can positively impact cognitive outcomes in diabetes and possibly the underlying mechanisms."
[3] https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/11/422438/artificial-rhythm-restores-memory[4] https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bps/94/4/94_919_87/_pdf/-char/en[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5696737/[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6205217/[7] https://www.alz healtheurope.org/en/home[8] https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/stroke-alzheimers-dementia-risk-factor
- The study findings suggest that for individuals with type 2 diabetes, adhering to a healthy lifestyle can lower their risk of developing dementia significantly.
- These healthy lifestyle choices, including regular exercise, a balanced diet, adequate sleep, and avoiding tobacco, are being researched in context by scientists to better understand their impact on dementia risk.
- Interestingly, Paxlovid, a currently available antiviral drug, has not been studied in relation to dementia risk or prevention in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Fitness and exercise, nutrition, mental health, and therapies and treatments are all crucial components of a healthy, dementia-lowering lifestyle, considering other chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes.
- Retargeting public health campaigns towards individuals with type 2 diabetes might be a naive approach without considering the diverse personas within this demographic, as lifestyle changes may not be equally effective for everyone.
- In addition to diabetes, other medical conditions such as sleep disorders, mental health issues, and Alzheimer's disease may also contribute to dementia risk, making it a complex disease with multiple contributors.
- Chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and dementia are both influenced by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors, making it vital to continue researching and understanding the roles of each in their development and progression.
- Health and wellness professionals play a vital role in helping people with type 2 diabetes understand the link between their lifestyle choices and their risk of developing dementia, and provide guidance on making positive changes for overall health and cognitive well-being.
