Limiting your alcohol intake can help with weight management and prevent life-threatening health conditions, like liver and heart disease—but did you know it could also lower your risk of dementia, stroke, and late-life depression? According to new research, reduced alcohol use is one of 17 identified lifestyle changes that can ward off all three conditions simultaneously.
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New study spotlights 17 risk factors for dementia, stroke, and late-life depression.
Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Mass General Brigham have detected 17 risk factors known to increase age-related brain diseases, including stroke, dementia, and late-life depression, according to a review published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. Among these are diet and exercise, vices like alcohol and smoking, weight, and certain health diseases. The comprehensive index is as follows:
- Blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Total cholesterol
- Kidney disease
- Blood sugar
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Obesity/Body mass index
- Hearing loss/impairment
- Pain
- Stress
- Depression
- Social engagement
- Alcohol use
- Smoking
- Sleep
- Purpose in life
The number 17 is outstandingly high. However, researchers found that improving just one of these variables could lower your risk of all three conditions—stroke, dementia, and late-life depression.
"This study just really shows how powerful lifestyle and behavioral changes are for age-related brain diseases," said senior study author Sanjula Singh, PhD, Harvard Medical School instructor and principal investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Brain Care Labs, in a statement per CNN. "Ultimately, we hope that people feel like there’s a hopeful message in here—that there are actually so many things that you can work on, and then not only your risk of stroke is lower, but also of dementia and/or of late-life depression."
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Improving one factor can lower your dementia, stroke, and depression risk simultaneously.
The 17-item list stemmed from an investigation of 59 meta-analyses, spanning from 2000 to 2023, that examined stroke, dementia, and/or late-life depression risk factors among adults with no history of the aforementioned issues.
Out of the complete list, 14 risk factors overlapped at least two conditions. The 14 are blood pressure, kidney disease, blood sugar, total cholesterol, alcohol, diet, hearing loss, pain, exercise, purpose in life, sleep, smoking, social engagement, and stress. High blood pressure and kidney disease were the most prevalent.
These findings showed that improving any one of these areas (i.e., quitting smoking, getting active, or eating healthier) may reduce your risk of dementia, stroke, and/or late-life depression. In layman's terms, you would be killing two birds with one stone.
"Dementia, stroke, and late-life depression are connected and intertwined, so if you develop one of them, there’s a substantial chance you may develop another one in the future," study author Jasper Senff, MD, a Harvard Medical School and Brain Care Labs postdoctoral fellow, explained in an interview with The Harvard Gazette. "And because they share these overlapping risk factors, preventive efforts could lead to a reduction in the incidence of more than one of these diseases, which provides an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the burden of age-related brain diseases."
That said, the study found no meta-analyses on the link between late-life depression and 11 of the risk factors: alcohol use, obesity, blood sugar, cognitive function, diet, hearing loss, kidney disease, pain, physical activity, social engagement, and stress.
The takeaway:
Making "powerful" lifestyle changes can not only reduce your risk of dementia, stroke, and late-life depression but also eliminate other potential factors. For instance, managing stress will also likely enhance your sleep and boost physical activity levels.
"Healthcare is increasingly complex. But these findings remind us that preventing disease can be very simple. Why? Because many of the most common diseases share the same risk factors," Jonathan Rosand, MD, a Harvard Medical School neurology professor and founder of the Global Brain Care Coalition, told The Harvard Gazette.
