Older Men Who Use Computers Have Lower Risk of Dementia
A study funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia at the University of Western Australia in Perth to determine if older men who use computers have lower risk of developing dementia followed 5506 community-dwelling men aged 69 to 87 years followed for up to 8.5 years. Use of computers was measured as daily, weekly, less than weekly and never. Participants also reported their use of email, Internet, word processors, games or other computer activities.
The researchers noted that 33.7% of the subjects reported using computers and 347 (6.3%) received a diagnosis of dementia during an average follow-up of 6.0 years. The hazard ratio (HR) of dementia was substantially lower among computer users than non-users (HR = 0.62, 95%CI = 0.470.81, after adjustment for age, educational attainment, size of social network, and presence of depression or of significant clinical morbidity). The HR of dementia appeared to decrease with increasing frequency of computer use, with older men who use computers having a significantly lower risk of receiving a diagnosis of dementia up to 8.5 years later. Randomised trials are required to determine if the observed associations are causal.
The study notes that with an aging world population demographic, the number of people experiencing cognitive decline and dementia will continue to increase. I’m only too aware of the issue, with two elderly uncles currently battling dementia. Currently available estimates suggest that over 24 million people worldwide had dementia in 2005, with this number expected to reach 50 million by 2025. Direct and indirect costs associated with dementia will also continue to rise, and conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease are expected to become leading causes of health expenditure in developed and developing countries, and such considerations have stimulated the search for factors that might delay or prevent the progression of cognitive decline in older adults at risk, with promising results being reported for physical activity, adequate management of diabetes and hypertension, and participation in cognitively stimulating activities . Data from the Bronx Aging Study showed that the hazard of dementia over five years was decreased amongst older adults involved in cognitively stimulating activities, with the lowest risk observed for the most active participants.
In this context, the authors say increasing ease of access to personal computers that has occurred over the past 20 years offers hope that the growing exposure of older adults to this technology will enhance their participation in mentally stimulating activities and contribute to maintain cognitive function and reduce the prevalence of dementia in the community.
The results of this study indicate that risk of incident dementia is about 30% to 40% lower among older computer users than non-users, and show that these findings cannot be attributed to age, education, social isolation, depression, poor physical health, or prevalent cognitive impairment. Interestingly, neither of my dementia-afflicted uncles is or ever has been a computer user.
You can view the study results here:
http://bit.ly/SS3Do7