"Neurology": do housework, visit relatives and friends, prevent dementia! The West China team analyzed 10-year data of more than 500,000 people and found that doing housework and visiting relatives and friends were associated with a 21% and 15% reduction in the risk of dementia, respectively

*For medical professionals only

As the years passed, many people wanted to "age gracefully", but dementia, manifested by cognitive decline and disability, cast a shadow

Recently, the research team of Professor Song Huan from West China Hospital of Sichuan University published prospective research results based on the association between physical and mental activity and dementia in the British Biobank cohort in the journal Neurology[1].

The findings suggest that regular exercise is associated with a 35% reduction in dementia risk, high-frequency housework is associated with a 21% reduction in dementia risk, and frequent visits to relatives and friends are associated with a 15% reduction in dementia risk, and these associations remain stable

Screenshot of the first page of the article

The study conducted a detailed analysis of prospective cohort data from 500,000 people, confirming the important role

Dementia is one of the leading causes of disability, affecting about 50 million people worldwide and 10 million new cases each year [2,3], placing a huge burden on

Meta-studies have shown an association between exercise and reduced risk of dementia[4], but there are differences

With these questions in mind, Professor Song Huan's team analyzed

The researchers screened the information in the UK Biobank database, selected participants with undiagnosed dementia and complete data on physical and mental activity before recruitment, and established separate cohorts to evaluate

The evaluation criteria for physical activity are the International Physical Activity Survey short questionnaire [8], which is completed
by the participants themselves during the recruitment phase.

It mainly includes five categories of leisure time such as physical activities, housework activities, work-related activities, work transportation, and other types of transportation, and contains details
such as the frequency and duration of some activities.

Physical activity questionnaire details

Mental activity, as defined in previous studies [9,10], includes indicators related to intelligence, social contact, and use of electronic devices, which are also collected when participants join the
queue.

Considering the correlation between different patterns of physical and mental activity, the researchers simultaneously applied principal component analysis to reduce the dimensionality of the activity data and divide physical activity and mental activity into different patterns
.

Details of the Mental Activity Questionnaire

The diagnosis of dementia is determined by the International Classification of Diseases Code, and the relevant case information is obtained from the British Biobank inpatient database and subdivided into subtypes
such as vascular dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other dementia.

The researchers also conducted a stratified analysis of the polygenic risk score of dementia, APOE genotype, and family history to assess the disease susceptibility to dementia
.

The average age of participants included in the analysis was 56.
53 years, with 45.
6%
of men.

During the average follow-up of 10.
66 years, 5185 cases of dementia were diagnosed, including 803 cases of vascular dementia and 2697 cases of
Alzheimer's disease.

Correlation analysis of individual activities and dementia risk suggests that for most physical activity, higher levels of physical activity intensity and reduced risk of dementia are associated with
most physical activity.

In addition to going to bars/clubs and watching TV at social events, attending friends, family gatherings, or other group activities was significantly associated
with a reduced risk of dementia.

Results of an association analysis between the type of activity and the risk of dementia

After classifying physical activity into different patterns, the researchers found that high-frequency strenuous exercise and other exercises at leisure were significantly associated with a 35% reduction in dementia risk (risk ratio: 0.
65, 95% CI: 0.
59-0.
71); regular housework and a 21% reduction in dementia risk were significantly associated (risk ratio: 0.
79, 95% CI: 0.
72-0.
85), and these associations did not change
in the analysis of dementia subtypes.

Analysis of patterns of mental activity showed that frequent visits to relatives and friends were associated with a 15% reduction in dementia risk (risk ratio: 0.
85, 95% CI: 0.
75 to 0.
96).


After excluding the influence of potential confounding factors such as recruitment age, sex, income level, susceptibility to dementia disease, changes in the diagnosis of dementia subtype over time, baseline cognitive level, etc.
, the association between physical and mental activity patterns and the risk of dementia onset did not change
significantly.

Correlation analysis of principal components of mental activity patterns and dementia risk

The advantages of this study include a large sample size, long follow-up time, good data collection and comprehensive
statistical analysis.

Data collection related to physical/mental activity and dementia are independent of each other, avoiding potential information bias
.

Principal component analysis also reduces the dimensionality of the data, ensuring the combined effect analysis
of multiple activity patterns.

Correction of disease susceptibility also enhances the persuasiveness and generalization of conclusions
.

At the same time, there were some shortcomings in this study, such as the determination of activity patterns was based on self-assessment questionnaires, and the content and intensity of participants' activities may change
during subsequent follow-up.

The delayed diagnosis of dementia and the accuracy of the diagnosis of dementia subtypes may also have an impact on
the conclusions of the study.

The UK Biobank data sample is not representative of the entire UK population, and whether the conclusions of this study can be replicated in other regions remains to be further corroborated
by future studies.

But overall, the flaws are not hidden
.

Leisure time to do more physical activities, do more housework, and socialize with friends and family, these seemingly simple activities may be related to
dementia prevention.

After reading this article, is there a better reason to exercise, do housework and visit relatives and friends? Make a change and stick with it
.

It is expected that more research in the future will gradually uncover the true face of dementia, so that "graceful aging" is no longer just a wish
.

Friends who have purchased a course,

Go directly to the Mini Program to listen to the meal~

References:

[1] Zhu J, Ge F, Zheng Y, et al.
Physical and Mental Activity, Disease Susceptibility, and Risk of Dementia: A Prospective Cohort Study Based on UK Biobank [published online ahead of print, 2022 Jul 27].
Neurology.
2022; 10.
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doi:10.
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Responsible editorZhang Jinxu