Modifiable Lifestyle Factors and Cognitive Function in Older People: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Conclusions: Lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, sleep, and social activity appear to be associated with cognitive function among older people. Physical activity and appropriate durations of sleep and conversation are important for cognitive function. Introduction Dementia is a major public health issue worldwide, with a serious burden for patients, caregivers, and society, as well as substantial economic impacts (1). Although the prevalence of late-life cognitive impairment and dementia are expected to increase in future, effective disease-modifying treatments are currently unavailable. Therefore, understanding the modifiable risk factors and developing evidence-based interventions for delaying or preventing cognitive impairment is an important challenge. Numerous observational studies have reported a range of potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia, including lower levels of education, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and late-life depression, as well as social isolation, physical inactivity, and hearing loss (2–6). Depression, physical inactivity, and social isolation are particularly important predictors of late-life cognitive impairment (4, 7). Sleep disturbance is also prevalent among older people, representing a risk factor for cognitive impairment (8–11). However, most previous studies have used self-report questionnaires, which can have problems with reliability and consistency due to recall...
Source: Frontiers in Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research