People Who Participate in Arts and Craft Activities and Who Socialize May Delay Development of Memory Problems
People Who Participate in Arts and Craft Activities and Who Socialize May Delay Development of Memory Problems People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of the thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurologyå¨, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Study author Rosebud Roberts, MB, ChB, MS, of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and a member of the American Academy of Neurology said that ÛÏOur study supports the idea that engaging the mind may protect neurons, or the building blocks of the brain, from dying, stimulate growth of new neurons, or may help recruit new neurons to maintain cognitive activities in old age.Û The study involved 256 people with an average age of 87 who were free of memory and thinking problems at the start of the study. The participants reported their participation in arts, such as painting, drawing and sculpting; crafts, like woodworking, pottery ceramics, quilting, quilling and sewing; social activities, such as going to the theater, movies, concerts, socializing with friends, book clubs, Bible study and travel; and computer activities such as using the Internet, computer games, conducting web searches and online purchases. After an average of four years, 121 people developed mild cognitive impairment. Participants who engaged in arts in both middle and old age were 73 percent less likely to develop MCI than those who did not report engaging in artistic activities. Those who crafted in middle and old age were 45 percent less likely to develop MCI and people who socialized in middle and old age were 55 percent less likely to develop MCI compared to those who did not engage in like activities. Computer use in later life was associated with a 53 percent reduced risk of MCI.
An Apple a Day WonÛªt Keep the Doctor Away but Maybe the Pharmacist
An Apple a Day WonÛªt Keep the Doctor Away but Maybe the Pharmacist Turns out, an apple a day wonÛªt keep the doctor away but it may mean you will use fewer prescription medications, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. The apple has come to symbolize health and healthy habits. But can apple consumption be associated with reduced health care use because patients who eat them might visit doctors less? Matthew A. Davis, D.C., M.P.H., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, and coauthors analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2008 and 2009-2010) to find out. The authors compared daily apple eaters (those who consumed at least 1 small apple per day or 149 grams of raw apple) with non-apple eaters. Of the 8,399 survey participants who completed a dietary recall questionnaire, 753 (9 percent) were apple eaters and 7,646 (91 percent) were non-apple eaters. Apple eaters had higher educational attainment, were more likely to be from a racial or ethnic minority, and were less likely to smoke. The authors measured ÛÏkeeping the doctor awayÛ as no more than one self-reported visit to a physician during the past year. There was no statistically significant difference between apple eaters and non-apple eaters when it came to keeping the doctor away when sociodemographic and health-related characteristics were taken into account. However, apple eaters had marginally higher odds of avoiding prescription medications, according to the results. The authors found no difference between apple eaters and non-apple eaters when measuring the likelihood of avoiding an overnight hospital stay or a visit to a mental health professional. ÛÏOur findings suggest that the promotion of apple consumption may have limited benefit in reducing national health care spending. In the age of evidence-based assertions, however, there may be merit to saying Û÷An apple a day keeps the pharmacist away,ÛªÛ the study concludes.
Diet Soda Linked to Increases in Belly Fat in Older Adults – Curb Your Enthusiasm For It!
You’ll be a fat cat for sure if you keep drinking that diet soda!
Vitamin D Supplementation Not Associated with Lower Blood Pressure
Vitamin D Supplementation Not Associated with Lower Blood Pressure A review of clinical trial data suggests vitamin D supplementation was ineffective at lowering blood pressure (BP) and should not be used as an antihypertensive, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Intervention studies have produced conflicting evidence on the BP-lowering effect of vitamin D. An increasing number of clinical trials of have studied vitamin D and cardiovascular health, according to the study background. Miles D. Witham, B.M., B.Ch., Ph.D., of the University of Dundee, Scotland, and coauthors analyzed clinical trial data and individual patient data with regard to vitamin D supplementation and BP. The authors included 46 trials (4,541 participants) and individual patient data were obtained for 27 trials (3,092 participants). In both clinical trial and individual patient data, no effect was seen on systolic BP or diastolic BP due to vitamin D supplementation I go to a fairly progressive physician and believe that he would support this idea. He did have me on a massive Vitamin D dose at one point because I was deficient in Vitamin D not because he was treating blood pressure. Check with your physician.
New Tool May Help Predict Who Will Develop Memory Problems
New Tool May Help Predict Who Will Develop Memory Problems Researchers have developed a new scoring system to help determine which elderly people may be at a higher risk of developing the memory and thinking problems that can lead to dementia, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurologyå¨, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ÛÏOur goal is to identify memory issues at the earliest possible stages,Û said study author Ronald C. Petersen, MD, PhD, of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. ÛÏUnderstanding what factors can help us predict who will develop this initial stage of memory and thinking problems, called mild cognitive impairment (MCI), is crucial, because people with MCI have an increased risk of developing dementia.Û The study involved 1,449 randomly selected people from Olmsted County, Minn., between the ages of 70 and 89 who did not have memory and thinking problems. At the start of the study and at visits every 15 months for an average of 4.8 years, participants were given memory and thinking tests. During the study, 401 people, or 28 percent, developed mild cognitive impairment. The scoring system took into account factors that could be easily obtained from medical records, such as years of education, history of stroke or diabetes and smoking. Researchers also factored in information obtained at the clinic visit, such as a test of thinking abilities and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Factors were assigned a score based on how much they contributed to the risk of developing thinking problems. For example, being diagnosed with diabetes before age 75 increased the risk score by 14 points, while having 12 or fewer years of education increased the risk by two points. When the womenÛªs scores were divided into four groups, the lowest group had risk scores of less than 27 and the highest had scores of more than 46. For both men and women, those in the highest group of risk scores were seven times more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those in the lowest group. åÊ Age, heart health risk factors, depression and anxiety disorders, and memory or functional abilities at the start of the study contributed most to the risk score. ÛÏThis risk scale may be an inexpensive and easy way for doctors to identify people who should undergo more advanced testing for memory issues or may be better candidates for clinical trials,Û said Petersen. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail van Buren AlzheimerÛªs Disease Research Program and the Rochester Epidemiology Project.
