Arizona, (IINA) - A recent research suggests that seniors who use their computers as little as once a week are less likely to experience age-related declines in memory and thinking, UPI reported.
The study found that those who used a computer showed a 42 percent lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to dementia.
However, it is not yet clear how computer use might help save memory and thinking abilities.
"We did not investigate mechanisms that might underlie the association between mentally stimulating activities such as computer use and the risk of incident MCI", said study author Janina Krell-Roesch, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "Therefore, we can only speculate why computer use might be of help".
Seniors who reach for their keyboards may simply be more likely to adhere to a healthier and more "disciplined" lifestyle, Krell-Roesch suggested. Or, it could be that computer use actually brings about beneficial brain changes. It's also possible that computers may help seniors compensate and cope more efficiently when mild memory and thinking problems do start to set in. Alternatively, it could be a combination of all three, she said.
She noted that this study wasn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship. It can only show an association between computer use and better memory and thinking with age.
Krell-Roesch is to present the findings in April at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting, in Vancouver, Canada. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until they've been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
To explore how computer use and other forms of mental stimulation might affect dementia risk, the study included more than 1,900 people who are 70 years old or older. None had signs of thinking or memory problems when the trial began.
All of the seniors completed an activity questionnaire about 2015 events. Stimulating activity options included reading, socializing, game-playing and craft-making, as well as computer use. The health of study volunteers was then followed for an average of four years.
The researchers noticed that engaging in any of the activities mentioned above at least once a week was associated with a lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment.
Computer use at least once a week was linked to a 42 percent drop in the risk for memory or thinking issues. About 18 percent of those who used a computer ended up developing mild cognitive impairment, compared with nearly 31 percent of seniors who didn't use a computer.
Reading magazines was associated with a 30 percent drop in the risk of memory and thinking issues. Participating in social activities was associated with 23 percent drop in the risk of developing memory impairment. Practicing a craft task, such as knitting, curtailed the risk of memory problems by 16 percent, while game-playing reduced risk by 14 percent, the study showed.
The researchers don't know whether the protective benefit would rise with increased participation in stimulating activities. "In the future, we may conduct additional analyzes to see if a higher frequency is associated with a better health outcome", Krell-Roesch said.
In a related context, Anton Porsteinsson, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester in New York, said that studies like this can be tricky.
"When people start to experience cognitive decline they start to withdraw, especially from something like computer use because that is not a passive activity, like watching TV", he said.
"Computer use can be reasonably complex. So it may be that using a computer can be brain-protective. But, it may also simply be a marker for seniors who are still fine, and are also busy reading and knitting, and having a generally active social life", he added.
AG/IINA
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
No comments:
Post a Comment