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Leisure Activities Associated With Reduced Dementia Risk
Leisure activities, such as reading a book, walking, and volunteering, may help lower the risk of dementia, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Neurology, the online medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“Previous studies have shown that leisure activities were associated with various health benefits, such as a lower cancer risk, a reduction of atrial fibrillation, and a person’s perception of their own well-being,” study author Lin Lu, PhD, of Peking University Sixth Hospital in Beijing, China, said in a news release. “However, there is conflicting evidence of the role of leisure activities in the prevention of dementia. Our research found that leisure activities like making crafts, playing sports or volunteering were linked to a reduced risk of dementia.”
Researchers identified 38 longitudinal studies that analyzed associations between leisure activities and dementia using the Cochrane, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. At baseline, 2,154,818 participants were included in the meta-analysis, plus the following subgroups: 74,700 all-cause dementia (ACD) cases, 2848 Alzheimer disease (AD) cases, and 1423 vascular dementia (VD) cases.
Leisure activities were defined as activities people engaged in for enjoyment or well-being, and were divided into 3 categories: mental, physical, and social. Mental activities were mainly intellectual activities, including reading or writing for pleasure, watching television, playing games, and making crafts. Physical activities included walking, running, yoga, dancing, and the like. Social activities included acts that involved communication with others, such as attending a class, volunteering, and visiting family or friends.
Related: Excessive Daytime Napping Linked With Increased Risk of Alzheimer Dementia
The subgroup analyses revealed physical (RR = 0.83, 95% CI: [0.78-0.88]), cognitive (RR = 0.77 [0.68-0.87]), and social (RR = 0.93 [0.87-0.99]) activities were inversely associated with the occurrence of ACD. Also, physical (RR = 0.87 [0.78-0.96]) and cognitive (RR = 0.66 [0.52-0.85]) activities were linked with a reduced risk of AD. Physical activity (RR = 0.67 [0.53-0.85]) was associated with a lower incidence of VD.
A noted limitation in the study was participants reported their own physical and mental activity, so they may not have correctly remembered and reported their activity.
“Future studies should include larger sample sizes and longer follow-up time to reveal more links between leisure activities and dementia,” researchers said in the release.
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