It is often pointed out that a healthier lifestyle can lead to a longer life, but a recent study by British biobank participants has shown that healthy lifestyle behavior can help reduce the risk of age -related brain disease.
The results of new research show that participants in the duration of shorter leukocyte telomeres (LTL) were more likely to develop age -related brain diseases, including dementia, strokeand late depressionthan those who had a longer LTL.
However, engaging in healthy lifestyle behavior seems to compensate for these risk factors. Although the study does not establish causality, the results suggest that the association between shorter and age -related LTL cerebral diseases can be modifiable.
“Our results support the potential advantages of working to improve your risk factors such as maintaining healthy weight, limitation of alcohol and sufficient sleep and exercise to reduce the risk of age -related brain disease, even in people who already show signs of damaging organic aging,” said the main author Christopher D. Anderson, MD, MMSC, Boston, in a press release.
The results were published June 11 in the newspaper Neurology.
Unhealthy lifestyle and age -related brain diseases
Telomeres are often described as protective ceilings at the end of chromosomes, and shortcut telomeres have been associated with age, race, sex, unfavorable environmental exhibitions and genetic factors, as well as lifestyle factors such as physical activity, food, alcohol, nutrition, sleep, stress, social interactions smoking using the brain care score (BCS). A BCS of 15 or more has been associated with healthier lifestyle choices, while a BCS of 10 or less meant less healthy lifestyle choices.
What has been less clear so far is the extent to which LTL affects age -related brain diseases, and if the change in an individual’s life habits could influence LTL, as opposed to LTL being a predictor of the risk of age -related brain disease.
The researchers estimated 356,173 participants in the British biobank with a 56 -year -old median age. The recruitment of participants occurred between 2006 and 2010, and there were four follow-up assessments in 2012-2013, 2014, 2019 and 2023. The participants were included if they had data on biomarkers such as LTL and DNA, as well as clinical data to identify the potential risk factors of age-related brain disease.
The main result was the association between LTL and the risks for strokes, dementia and late depression, both as a composite result and as an individual results.
The LTL was classified into three tertiles, ranging from the shortest to the longest, and the risk factors were compared between these groups using the BCS. A BCS of 15 or more indicated healthier lifestyle choices – such as nutritional diet, low level of cholesterol and controlled blood pressure – while BCS of 10 or more reflected less healthy behaviors.
The results have shown that the shortest LTL LTL TERTILE was associated with an increased risk for the composite result of age-related brain disease (risk ratio (HR), 1.11; 95% CI, 1.08-1.15), as well as increased risks for dementia (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.12-1.26), late depression (HR, 1.14; 1.09-1.18) and strokes (HR, 1.08; 95%CI, 1.02-1.15).
During the comparison of participants with a shorter LTL, those with a lower BCS presented a higher risk for the composite results of age-related brain disease (HR, 1.11; 95%CI, 1.07-1,16), as well as for dementia (HR, 1.17; 95%CI, 1.08-1,28), late derivation (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.19), and accident alone (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02-1.19).
Among the participants with a shorter LTL but a higher BCS, there was no significant increase in the risk of age -related brain disease as composite or individual results.
Reverse the risk
The limits of the study included the evaluation of the participants with only European ancestry, and the measurement of the LTL was carried out at the start rather than over time. Future studies should include the evaluation of the relationship between shortcut and age -related brain diseases in more diverse populations, as well as LTL measurement over time, researchers said.
However, the results suggest that “healthy lifestyles could delay the aging of our cells and reduce the frequency of these diseases, especially in people who are greater risk,” said Anderson.
“Reduction of risk factors such as alcohol weight and consumption, as well as more sleeping and exercise, can all help to revers the risk of age -related brain diseases, even for people who already show signs of organic aging”, the main author Tamara Kimball, MD, the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecavery in Massachusetts Hospital, The press release. “In short, it is never too late to start taking care of your brain better.”
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Massachusetts General Hospital McCance Center for Brain Health. The authors said they had no relevant financial relationships.