Six Healthy Lifestyle Habits Linked to Slowed Memory Decline

The study was published online January 25 in The BMJ.

To investigate, the researchers conducted a longitudinal study, known as the China Cognition and Aging Study, that considered genetic risk as well as lifestyle factors.

The study began in 2009 and concluded in 2019.

Participants (n = 29,072

average age, 72. years;

48.54% women; 20.43% 

Tested for gene that may cause dementiaAPOE4 carriers who were required to have normal cognitive function at baseline

Adhering to six healthy lifestyle behaviors is linked to slower memory decline in older adults this large, population-based study.

Investigators found that

a healthy diet,

cognitive activity,

regular physical exercise,

never or former smokers

never drinking

APOE4 status GENETIC STATUS

After adjusting for health and socioeconomic factors, investigators found that each individual healthy behavior was associated with a slower-than-average decline in memory over a decade. A healthy diet emerged as the strongest deterrent, followed by cognitive activity and physical exercise.

“A healthy lifestyle is associated with slower memory decline, even in the presence of the APOE4 allele,” study investigators led by Jianping Jia, MD, PhD, of the Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and the Department of Neurology, Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, write.

“Lifestyle” consisted of six modifiable factors details

 Physical exercise (weekly frequency and total time)

Smoking (current, former, or never-smokers)

Alcohol consumption (never drank, drank occasionally, low to excess drinking, and heavy drinking)

Diet (daily intake of 12 food items: fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, dairy products, salt, oil, eggs, cereals, legumes, nuts, tea)

Cognitive activity (writing, reading, playing cards, mahjong, other games)

Social contact (participating in meetings, attending parties, visiting friends/relatives, traveling, chatting online) Participants’ lifestyle was scored on the basis of the number of healthy factors they engaged in. Lifestyle         Number of healthy factors Number of participants

Favorable    4 – 6	5556
Average       2 – 3	16,549
Unfavorable 1 – 2	6967

The study was funded by the Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China; the National Key Scientific