The Study
Research has previously shown that a healthy lifestyle can help maintain cognitive function as we age. In this interesting study, 754 deceased individuals from the Rush Memory And Aging Project Cohort were studied. These individuals had provided detailed information about their lifestyle and cognitive function up until they died. A healthy lifestyle score was computed for each subject. Researchers also conducted autopsies on these subjects after their deaths.
Components of the healthy lifestyle score included:
-Not smoking
-150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week
-Limiting alcohol consumption
-Following a Mediterranean diet
Subjects most closely following these lifestyle factors had higher global cognitive functioning prior to death and also had significantly lower beta amyloid plaques in their brain upon autopsy. Beta amyloid plaques are an indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.
JAMA Neurology 2024; 81:233-39
Take Home Message
This is the first study I have ever seen that did autopsies on subjects after they passed. These lifestyle factors are tried and true and have been shown to reduce risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, all cause mortality and as this study demonstrates, loss of cognitive functioning with age.
Make each of them a priority in the New Year!
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