According to a study published in The BMJ, living a healthy lifestyle, especially a healthy diet, can slow down memory decline in older adults. This is true even for individuals with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, the leading risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Memory decline as individuals advance in age
As individuals advance in age, memory continues to decline, but little research has assessed the impact of a healthy lifestyle on older adults’ memory. Additionally, considering the potential memory decline causes, a blend of healthy behaviors is needed to attain an optimal impact.
In the study published in The BMJ, scientists analyzed data from around 29,000 individuals aged above 60 with normal cognitive ability participating in the China Cognition and Aging Study. Researchers used the Auditory Verbal Learning test (AVLT) to measure memory function at the start of the research. Then, they tested participants for the APOE gene, with 20% of the participants found to be carriers. Finally, they conducted follow-up assessments from 2009 through 2019.
Researchers calculated a healthy lifestyle score that combined regular exercise, a nutritious diet, social contact, cognitive activity, never drinking alcohol, and non-smoking factors. Next, they categorized the individuals into non-carrier and APOE carrier groups, putting participants into good, average, and unfavorable health lifestyle groups.
Individual healthy activity attributed to slow memory decline
After considering various health, social, and economic variables, the researchers discovered that every healthy activity was connected to a slower-than-normal deterioration in memory over ten years. The three factors most impacting memory deterioration were a good diet, physical exercise, and cognitive activity.
Memory decline in the favorable lifestyle cohort was 0.28 points slower than in the unfavorable lifestyle group based on AVLT standardized score. In the average lifestyle group, memory decline was slower by 0.16 points. Interestingly, even participants with the APOE gene in the average and favorable lifestyles group had a slower memory decline rate than the unfavorable lifestyle group.
