A series of changes in lifestyle It could simultaneously reduce the risk of the three conditions, according to a new study.
New research has identified 17 overlapping factors that affect the risk of stroke (also called ICTUS), dementia and late depression, which suggests that a series of changes in lifestyle could simultaneously reduce the risk of the three.
Although it may seem that diseases are not related, people suffering from dementia or depression or suffering from a stroke also often suffer from one of the other conditions or both, according to Sanjula Singh, principal researcher of the brain care laboratories of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the main author of the study. This is because they can share underlying damage in small blood vessels in the brain, experts said.
Some of the risk factors common to the three brain diseases, such as Hypertension and diabetesThey seem to cause this type of damage. The investigation suggests that at least 60 percent of strokes, 40 percent of dementia cases and 35 percent of cases of depression Late could be prevented or slowed by controlling risk factors.
“They are surprising figures,” said Stephanie Collier, director of Education of the Geriatric Psychiatry Division of the McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. “If you can optimize the lifestyle pieces or the modifiable pieces, then you are much more likely to live without disabilities.”
Often, the risk factors of these diseases are interconnected, and addressing one – for example, exercising more routine walks with a friend – can also help you address others, such as excess weight and social isolation.
“If you start working in one of them, you’re actually improving several at the same time,” said Singh. “It’s a great way to start.”
The factors that protect against brain diseases
- The study, which analyzed 59 meta -analysis data, identified six factors that reduce the risk of brain diseases:
- A consumption of low -to moderate alcohol (consuming one to three drinks a day had a lower benefit than consuming less than one drink per day).
- Cognitive activity, that is, regular participation in mentally stimulating tasks such as reading or making puzzles and other riddles.
- A diet rich in vegetables, fruit, dairy, fish and nuts.
- Moderate or high levels of physical activity.
- A sense of purpose in life.
- A wide social network.
The factors that increase your risk
The study also identified 13 characteristics and health habits that make you more prone to develop dementia, a stroke or late depression. (In total, protective and harmful factors add 19 factors, because two of them, diet and social connections, can increase or reduce risk, depending on their type and quality).
- Arterial hypertension.
- High body mass index.
- High blood glucose level.
- High total cholesterol.
- Depressive symptoms.
- Diet rich in red meat, sugary drinks, sweets and sodium.
- Hearing loss.
- Kidney disease
- Pain, in particular forms that interfere with activities.
- Sleep alterations (for example, insomnia or poor sleep quality) or periods of sleep greater than eight hours.
- Background of smoking.
- Loneliness or isolation.
- General stress or stressful vital events (according to study subjects).
The study only examined the risk factors related to two or more of the three diseases. He did not show that these risk factors directly cause disease; He only showed an association.
Trying to address all these behaviors for brain health may seem overwhelming. But Singh suggested to treat the list as a menu of options. “Choose only a first risk factor and then see step by step,” he said.
Where to start
The study also identified which risk factors and specific protective habits have an especially notable effect on brain health. According to doctors, addressing them is a good starting point.
Lower blood pressure can have great benefits
The research discovered that arterial hypertension was the greatest individual risk factor to develop any of the three diseases, largely because it almost triples the risk of stroke.
Another new job, published in Nature Medicine, offers more evidence about that. In a randomized trial of 34,000 patients in China, the researchers discovered that patients who significantly reduced their blood pressure had 15 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who did not.
Together, the results suggest that controlling blood pressure can have a huge effect on brain health. For that, you could start by reducing salt consumption, exercising or losing weight, said Alison Moore, head of the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care of the University of California, San Diego Campus.
However, Moore warns that these interventions are not always enough, especially as we age and our blood vessels harden. That is when medication can help.
Exercise your physical and mental muscles. Extra points if it’s with friends
Moderate and high physical activity substantially decreased the probabilities of stroke and dementia, as it also had a broad social network. The meta -analysis that were included defined these levels in different ways, but the guidelines of the American heart association describe activities such as walking and working in the garden as a “moderate” intensity exercise, and running and swimming are considered “vigorous” or high intensity.
Cognitive activity seemed to have the greatest protective effect, reducing the risk of dementia by approximately 40 percent. But the researchers pointed out that this finding could be, at least in part, the result of the “reverse causality”, that is, when people who are already developing dementia carry out less demanding activities from the cognitive point of view due to their symptoms.
However, Collier said the data reaffirms their advice to patients to perform “a bit difficult” mental tasks, such as reading, puzzles or other riddles, or learning a new instrument. The ideal, he said, would be to carry out those activities with another person, because the conversation can be cognitively stimulating and because the added benefit of social interaction is obtained.
Start as soon as possible if you can
Collier said the right time to start making changes in the lifestyle “is not usually old, but maturity.” That can even avoid the early development of diseases.
But taking measures to reduce these risk factors can also help prevent or slow down the progression of the disease in later stages of life. It can also benefit patients with family history or genetic predisposition to these diseases, who “often feel their inevitable destiny,” said Singh. But “there are things that can do – which we can all do – to take better care of their brains.”