DO LEISURE ACTIVITIES OFFER PROTECTION FROM ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER DEMENTIAS?

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Neurology Reviews.com

DO LEISURE ACTIVITIES OFFER PROTECTION FROM ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER DEMENTIAS?

SAN DIEGO—Participating in recreational activities in midlife appears to offer protection from neurodegeneration, according to Robert P. Friedland, MD, and colleagues. "People who were less active were more than three times more likely to have Alzheimer's disease as compared to those who were more active," said Dr. Friedland, Associate Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Radiology. He and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland studied the association between physical and mental activities in adulthood and the development of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Friedland presented the results of the study at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

ACTIVITIES THE MEASURE

During the study, information about participation in leisure activities was collected from a population of patients with Alzheimer's disease (n = 193) and from controls (n = 358). Questions about participation in 26 passive, intellectual, and physical activities (see table) were included on the questionnaire. The study participants were asked which activities they had participated in and for how long each month they had participated in these activities during their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Data on participation after age 60 or during the five-year period prior to disease onset (whichever was first) was not sought because......read the whole article

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