I cannot imagine existing in the world without my community, and this belief may be protecting my brain in more ways than I imagine. With dementia rates projected to hit 78 million globally by 2030, researchers continue to explore potential treatments, whilst simultaneously highlighting preventative measures, one of which may be having a healthy social life.
Dementia and Social Habits
Having strong communities is a cornerstone of Blue Zones, five areas across the globe virtually free of disease and feature many residents living to age 100 and beyond. With that, researchers set out to explore how a strong social life may influence dementia risk, and this article delves into their study and its potential implications for dementia management and prevention.
The start of the study featured 1923 dementia-free older adults with a mean age of about 80 who had participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project – an ongoing longitudinal study that examines common chronic conditions of aging.
Over an average of 5 years, 545 participants developed dementia and 695 developed mild cognitive impairment. They each underwent yearly evaluations that included social activity levels, which were measured using a questionnaire that asked participants how often they engaged in six common social activities (dining out, visiting friends and family, or volunteering) during the previous year.
The evaluations also included inquiring about medical history, and cognitive function was assessed using 21 tests for various types of memory.
Social Life Boosts Cognitive Health
“In this study, we show that social activity is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and that the least socially active older adults developed dementia an average of five years before the most socially active.”- Bryan James, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine at Rush.
The findings of the study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, found that an incredibly active social life may help prevent or delay dementia in old age.
Specifically, the study found that frequent social activity caused a 38% reduced risk for dementia and a 21% reduced risk for mild cognitive impairment, compared to less socially active individuals.
In addition, a five-year delay in dementia onset was associated with an additional three years of life and an economic benefit of reducing dementia costs by 40% over the next 30 years. There may also potentially be a $500,000 in lifetime health care savings for each person who would eventually develop dementia.
Why is social life good for your brain?
Whilst more research is being done to understand the neuroprotective benefits of being social, James believes that a good social life “challenges older adults to participate in complex interpersonal exchanges, which could promote or maintain efficient neural networks in a case of ‘use it or lose it’.”
Also, being sociable can strengthen certain neurons in the brain. This not only activates the same areas of the brain involved in thinking and memory, as it requires the brain to process complex information, but it also makes them more resistant to the potential buildup of age-related compounds.
Staying social
With the study’s findings highlighting the importance and benefits of community connections, coupled with previous research detailing the health dangers of loneliness in seniors, it’s important that older adults stay connected with friends, family, and their communities.
Whether it’s group activities, volunteer opportunities, programs developed by local governments and non-profits, or even intergenerational interactions, late-life social activity may be exactly what older adults need to maintain their cognitive health while also enhancing their quality of life.
Want to know more?
In 2004, author and explorer Dan Buettner and a group of researchers discovered five regions across the world, referred to as “Blue Zones”, virtually free of the disease and featuring many residents living age 100 and beyond.
With that, Buettner may have found the secret to reducing dementia risk, and he discovered these secrets in the Blue Zone island of Ikaria.
References
Alzheimer’s Disease International (2020). Dementia Statistics. [online] Alzheimer’s Disease International. Available at: https://www.alzint.org/about/dementia-facts-figures/dementia-statistics/.
Chen, Y., et al. (2024). Late‐life social activity and subsequent risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. doi.org/10.1002/alz.14316.
