Multiple Lifestyle Change Reduces Cognitive Impairment

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Multiple  Lifestyle Change Reduces Cognitive Impairment

Results of a randomized trial suggest lifestyle intervention that addresses a variety of risk factors simultaneously can have cognitive benefits for people at risk for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

The 2-year trial, called the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER), showed that an intervention including nutritional guidance, physical exercise, cognitive training, social activities, and management of cardiac risk factors resulted in better overall cognitive performance on a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery vs regular health advice. The advantage for this approach was seen on each of the individual cognitive domains tested as well, including memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed, the researchers report.

“In conclusion, I would say that the FINGER study is a kind of proof-of-concept study because it reports the first result from a large, long-term multidomain study showing that it is possible to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in an at-risk population,” lead author Miia Kivipelto, MD, PhD, professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, told attendees here.

The multidomain intervention seemed to be feasible, she added, with a low drop-out rate of only 11% over 2 years. “Importantly, of course, we need to have longer-term follow-up time, she added, to really understand what the effect is on the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”

Dr. Kivipelto presented the results at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2014.

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