A study of older adults in China found a link between a healthy lifestyle and slower memory decline
A healthy lifestyle, in particular a healthy diet, is associated with slower memory decline, found a decade-long study of older adults in China, published today in The BMJ.
Even for carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene – the strongest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias – a healthy lifestyle was found to slow memory loss.
Memory continuously declines as people age, but evidence from existing studies is insufficient to assess the effect of a healthy lifestyle on memory in later life. And given the many possible causes of memory decline, a combination of healthy behaviors might be needed for an optimal effect.
To explore this further, researchers analyzed data from 29,000 adults aged at least 60 years (average age 72; 49% women) with normal cognitive function who were part of the China Cognition and Aging Study.
At the start of the study in 2009, memory function
