Even those with the genes most susceptible to Alzheimer’s can cut their risk of dementia by nearly half with seven healthy habits, a study finds. Healthy habits include being active, eating better, losing weight, not smoking, maintaining healthy blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, and reducing blood sugar.
These habits, established by the American Heart Association for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (Life’s simple 7), are associated with a lower overall risk of dementia. However, it was unclear whether it would have the same effect in people at high genetic risk. A study by the University of Mississippi Medical Center, published online in the American Neurology journal Neurology, found that even those at the highest genetic risk may have a lower risk of dementia if they maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The team followed 11,561 people over 30 years, including 8823 of European descent and 2738 of African descent. The average age at the start of the study was 54 years.
As a result of the study, the risk of developing dementia decreased by 9% for every 1 point increase in the score of lifestyle factors. Among people of European descent, those with high lifestyle scores were 43% less likely to develop dementia. Those with moderate lifestyle scores had a 30 percent lower risk of dementia. For people of African descent, people with medium and high scores were associated with a 6% and 17% lower risk of dementia, respectively.
Study participants reported their scores on seven lifestyle factors. A score of 0 represents the most unhealthy score, and a score of 14 represents the healthiest score. Those of European descent had an average score of 8.3, and those of African descent had an average score of 6.6.
At the beginning of the study, the team calculated a genetic risk score using whole genome analysis of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the genetic risk score, participants of European descent were divided into 5 groups and participants of African descent into 3 groups.
The group with the highest genetic risk included those with at least one APOE e4 variant, the APOE gene variant associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Of those of European descent, 27.9% had the APOE e4 variant, and among those of African descent, 40.4% had the APOE e4 variant. The lowest risk group had the APOE e2 variant, which was associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
By the end of the study, 1603 people of European descent had dementia and 631 people of African descent had dementia.
The researchers found that a diverse population and a larger sample are needed to obtain reliable estimates of whether these modifiable lifestyle factors affect dementia risk in people of different genetic risk groups and even in people of different ancestry.
Reporter Lee Bo-hyun [email protected]
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