Internet can reduce the risk of dementia in the elderly

Do your parents want to open a Facebook or Instagram account, chat, or even go shopping online? You should probably introduce them more to the web… for their good health. A study published on May 3 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society thus suggests that the regular use of the Internet by a senior public would have a beneficial effect on their cognitive health, and would even be linked to a lower risk of dementia.

Two hours of web a day for better cognitive health

Researchers at New York University have thus found this curious association by following for 8 years, 18,154 adults aged 50 to 65 who did not suffer from dementia at the start of the study period. A large sample from the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration.

Several questions about their habits were thus asked, and related to their cognitive state. And several associations have been updated:

• People who used the Internet at the start of the study seem to be half as affected by a risk of dementia as people who were not regular users, at the end of follow-up.
• The researchers also looked at how often these adults were online, ranging from no connection to 8 hours of internet per day. Those who used the Internet for about two hours or less per day had the lowest risk of dementia compared to those who did not use the Internet.
• In contrast, the researchers noted that people who were online six to eight hours a day had a higher risk of dementia, “but this finding was not statistically significant“, they said. Further research is needed.

Also important: the difference in risk between regular users and those who did not use the Internet regularly did not vary by gender, level of education, race or ethnicity.

A track to dig further

At this stage, however, scientists cannot establish a causal link between Internet use and brain health. But the co-author of the study, Dr. Virginia W. Chang, makes some assumptions.

The study also didn’t look at what people explored online. While many videos don’t shine with their content, the internet can also be intellectually stimulating, and some studies have shown that intellectual stimulation can help prevent dementia.

This track could also be invested more. While risk factors such as family history and age cannot be changed in cognitive decline, scientists believe that certain “healthy” behaviors may reduce the risk.

Internet, to be integrated into our healthy practices?

Lifestyle factors like exercise, sleep, maintaining weight, controlling blood pressure, managing blood sugar, quitting smoking, and staying engaged with others can help reduce the risk of dementia. In the United States, as elsewhere, browsing the Internet is not yet part of the activities associated with reducing this risk. But this new study (like other recent ones) suggests that larger research could demonstrate such a protective factor.

For example, older people’s use of social networks can also increase their connection to other people and reduce their isolation. However, some studies have already shown that older people who felt lonely were three times more likely to develop dementia than those who said they felt socially connected to others.

“We need more evidence, not only from observational studies like this, but also from interventional studies,” said the scientists. Doctors could one day treat people with dementia by suggesting lifestyle changes in addition to medication.

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