- Frequent social activity is linked to a 38% reduction in dementia risk and a 21% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment.
- Older adults who are less socially active may develop dementia up to five years earlier than their more socially engaged peers.
- Social interactions may help strengthen brain circuits, making them more resilient to age-related cognitive decline.
Social interactions such as visiting friends, attending social events, or going to a place of worship could help protect against dementia, according to new research from Rush University.
The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association suggests that staying socially active in later life may prevent or delay cognitive decline.
“This research builds on previous findings that social activity is linked to slower cognitive decline in older adults,” explained Dr. Bryan James, associate professor of internal medicine at Rush and lead author of the study.
“In this study, we found that older adults who were the least socially active developed dementia on average five years earlier than those who were the most socially engaged.”
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Social interaction is thought to strengthen neural circuits in the brain, helping them resist age-related damage.
The same areas of the brain involved in thinking and memory are activated during social engagement, which may explain the protective effect.
Benefits of an active social life
The study included 1,923 dementia-free older adults with an average age of 80, all of whom were participants in the Rush Memory and Aging Project which is an ongoing research study into chronic conditions of ageing.
Over the course of the study:
- 545 participants developed dementia
- 695 participants developed mild cognitive impairment
Each participant underwent annual evaluations, including a detailed medical history and neuropsychological tests.
Their level of social activity was assessed using a questionnaire that asked about six common social behaviours, including:
- Going to restaurants or sporting events
- Playing games such as bingo
- Taking day or overnight trips
- Volunteering
- Visiting family or friends
At the beginning of the study, none of the participants showed any signs of cognitive impairment.
However, over an average follow-up period of five years, those who were more socially active had significantly lower rates of dementia.
The researchers also adjusted for factors such as age, physical activity, and overall health to ensure the findings were not influenced by other variables.
How does social engagement protect the brain?
The exact reason why social activity helps preserve cognitive function remains unclear, but researchers believe it may be linked to mental stimulation.
- Dementia risk increased by watching TV for hours
- Antidiabetic drugs linked to lower dementia risk in people with type 2 diabetes
- Diabetes, pollution and alcohol biggest modifiable risk factors for dementia
“Social engagement challenges older adults to take part in complex interpersonal exchanges which may help maintain or strengthen neural networks in a ‘use it or lose it’ effect,” said Dr. James.
The results also highlight the potential benefits of promoting social activity as a community-level intervention to reduce dementia rates.
The study found that delaying dementia onset by five years could add an extra three years to life expectancy, while also significantly reducing healthcare costs – potentially saving as much as $500,000 (£403,000) per person over a lifetime.
While the findings suggest that maintaining a socially active lifestyle may be beneficial for brain health, further research is needed to determine whether structured social interventions could actively prevent or delay dementia.
“Our next step is to investigate whether increasing social activity in later life through targeted interventions could help slow or prevent cognitive decline,” Dr. James said.