Health & Medical, UK (Commonwealth Union) – Dementia is a complex and debilitating condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is often associated with memory loss, cognitive decline, and changes in behavior, posing significant challenges for individuals, families, and society at large.
The condition is an umbrella term used to describe a range of symptoms associated with a decline in cognitive abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is not a specific disease but rather a set of symptoms caused by various underlying conditions or diseases. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for most cases. Other forms include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and mixed dementia, which is a combination of different types.
A new study conducted by the University College London (UCL) researchers has found that those who are socially engaged during their middle ages have a 30 to 50 percent less likelihood of getting dementia later in life.
The exact reasons for dementia have not been verified many studies have indicated a variety of factors contributing to dementia. Age is the most significant risk factor, with the prevalence of dementia increasing significantly after the age of 65. However, it’s important to note that dementia is not a normal part of aging. Other risk factors include genetics, family history, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, head injuries, excessive alcohol consumption, and certain infections have been linked to an increased risk of developing dementia.
The narrative review, that appeared in Nature Aging, summarizes the observational, interventional, and mechanistic proof for social engagement as a method to lessen dementia risk, from research carried out all over the world, while also giving recommendations for the way societies may jointly lower dementia risk as well.
The global study conducted across the UK, Finland, the US, France, New Zealand, and Japan, has indicated that lifelong social engagement could bring down dementia risk by elevating cognitive reserve, and brain maintenance by lowering stress and enhancing cerebrovascular health.
Lead author Dr Andrew Sommerlad of UCL Psychiatry says “As the global population ages and the number of people living with dementia rises, estimated at 50 million people worldwide and expected to triple by 2050, there is an increasingly urgent need to find ways to reduce dementia’s scale and impact.”
“There is a growing body of evidence that being socially active is good for your health and can help keep your brain healthy as you age. Anyone could take this advice on a personal level, but there are also policy and societal changes that could reduce rates of dementia, such as social prescribing, socially connected housing, and more encouragement of volunteering.”
The scientists discovered strong evidence that social engagement, and lessening loneliness, can assist in lowering dementia risk. By sharing the data together, estimations were made that individuals with a greater socially active life in mid to late life have a 30-50 percent lower chance of ending up with dementia later on; while certain aspects of this relationship may not be causal, they indicated that there is strong enough proof that social engagements lower dementia risk that the results should be introduced to public health policy.
The study authors made recommendations for possible policy implications that may assist the elevation of social interactions and possibly bring back social contact to pre-Covid pandemic rates, by bringing down financial as well as logistical obstacles to social engagement.
Some of them included the provision of socially linked housing. The formation of a physical atmosphere that backs social engagement, is recommended in the WHO Global Age-Friendly Cities Guide. The guidance of retirees for volunteering and education, which assist with the change from working life to retirement that has no loss of social contact are some of the recommendations made.
