According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the risks would decrease by nearly 60%, the greater the activity and the more the Mediterranean diet is followed.
The study involved 1,880 elderly people (77 years on average), living in New York City in the United States, with no dementia at the start of the study. For each of them, measurements of their neurological and neuropsychological states were carried out over a year and a half between 1992 and 2006. The researchers also assessed their degree of adherence to a Mediterranean diet and their physical condition, rated from 0 to 9.
Each person was followed for an average of 5.4 years. Only 282 of them developed Alzheimer’s disease.
The results of the study showed in particular that people with intense physical activity had between 37 and 50% less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who had no physical activity. As for people following a Mediterranean diet, the rate varies between 32 and 40%.
Source: Journal of American Medical Association
