- The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide is expected to reach 153 million by 2050.
- Although we don’t yet know a definitive way to prevent the disease, researchers do know that health and lifestyle changes can help reduce a person’s risk.
- Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found that personalized health and lifestyle changes could delay or even prevent memory loss in people at high risk of dementia. Alzheimer’s.
While researchers estimate the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease reach
Because the exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is still unknown, there is currently no definitive way to diagnose it. prevent disease.
However, previous research shows some healthy effects
Adding to this knowledge is a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) that suggests personalized health and lifestyle changes could delay or even prevent.
The study was recently published in the journal
Dr. Kristine Yaffevice chair and professor of the UCSF Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and first author and principal investigator of this study, said Medical news today They decided to study the effect of a personalized health and lifestyle approach because even though clinicians are aware of the lifestyle risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, it is not It is not clear whether reducing these risk factors results in improved cognition.
“Getting people to change their health and behavior is difficult,” Dr. Yaffe continued. “Our hypothesis was that a personalized approach, in which people’s individual risk factors are assessed – not one size fits all – and in which the person can choose their goals and ways to improve their risk factor – for example sleep, physical activity, social engagement – we would be able to reduce risks, which would result in better cognition.
“No one has tried this approach before and we found that we could improve risk factors and cognition even though it happened during COVID,” she added. “Moreover, only a handful of trials have shown cognitive benefits with interventions on these health and lifestyle factors.”
While widespread health and lifestyle changes can certainly be effective, those who are less motivated to make these adjustments may benefit from a personalized plan.
A personalized health and lifestyle change plan allows a person to take charge of their health by specifying the areas they want to target for change.
And because everyone is different, a personalized approach allows medical advisors to tailor their suggestions to one person rather than all.
A study published in June 2021 found that people receiving personalized nutritional advice
Another study published in June 2021 found that those who followed a personalized nutrition plan had improved lifestyle habits and
And a study published in October 2019 found that personalized lifestyle advice given to older adults helped improve resilience and motivationand helped reduce body fat percentage and hip circumference, compared to those receiving generic lifestyle advice.
For the study, Dr. Yaffe and his team recruited 172 participants aged 70 to 89 years old. All participants had at least two of the eight risk factors for dementia at the start of the two-year study.
These risk factors included:
- physical inactivity
- uncontrolled hypertension
- uncontrolled diabetes
- poor sleep
- Prescription drug use associated with risk of cognitive decline
- elevated depressive symptoms
- social isolation
- being a current smoker.
Half of the participants received personalized coaching from a nurse and health coach and were allowed to select the specific risk factors they wanted help with.
These participants received coaching sessions every few months to review their goals. Meetings moved from face-to-face to telephone during the pandemic.
The other half of the study participants received general educational materials about reducing dementia risk by mail every 3 months.
After 2 years, researchers found that participants who received personalized coaching experienced a slight improvement on cognitive tests, amounting to a 74% improvement compared to the non-personalized group.
Additionally, the personalized coaching group also showed a 145% improvement in risk factors and an 8% improvement in quality of life compared to the non-personalized group.
“We were delighted to see such a big difference between the groups,” Dr. Yaffe said. “This provides clear evidence that if we can reduce these modifiable risk factors through this personalized approach, we can improve cognition and prevent decline, which would most likely prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”
MNT also spoke with Dr Shannel Kassis Elhelouresearcher in geropsychology and neuropsychology at the Brain Wellness and Lifestyle Programs at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California, about this study.
Dr. Elhelou, who was not involved in the research, said she found these results promising and encouraging because they suggest that personalized health and lifestyle interventions can have a positive impact on functioning. cognitive function of older adults at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which could potentially open new avenues for non-pharmacological approaches.
“These findings could influence how providers discuss health and lifestyle interventions with their patients at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease by opting for a personalized approach rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Additionally, providers may be more inclined to refer their patients to health coaches (who) can address specific needs and preferences, as well as help motivate them to adhere to lifestyle changes.
– Dr Shannel Kassis Elhelou
Dr. Elhelou said she would like to see future research on this topic continue to explore the effectiveness of additional non-pharmacological approaches such as cognitive training and stress management.
“In addition, it would be useful to conduct larger, longer-term studies to further validate the effectiveness of personalized interventions and non-pharmacological approaches in delaying or preventing cognitive decline in people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease” , she added.
