Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2024)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1509223

Summary

Allostatic Load (AL) is a way to describe the damage to your body that happens when you are constantly stressed for a long time. This study looked at how different types of stress over your life, as well as having a healthy lifestyle, can affect Allostatic Load.

The researchers studied information from 620 people who were part of the PREVENT dementia program. They found that doing sports and having a healthy diet directly helped reduce Allostatic Load. They also found that playing sports could help a person handle stress better, but sleep was really important for this to work. Both stress and how well you deal with it affected sleep, which in turn played a big role in how Allostatic Load changed. Using healthy habits, like eating well and getting good sleep, to manage stress is likely to be good for our health.

Qi Q, Deng F, Sammon R, Ritchie K, Muniz-Terrera G, Koychev I, Hutchinson S, Robinson D, Malhotra P. O’Brien J, Ritchie CW, Lawlor B, Naci, L.

Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy (2024)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-024-01610-9

Summary

Building cognitive reserve through stimulating activities and occupational attainment represents a crucial yet under-explored approach to dementia prevention in mid-life. However, it remains unclear whether modifiable lifestyle factors can protect against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) processes from mid-life, differentially for females and males who carry inherited risk for late-life dementia.

This study found that engagement in stimulating activities was positively associated with episodic and relational memory, regardless of sex and APOE4 genetic status. Notably, among APOE4 carriers, this study found significant sex differences in the association between occupational attainment and episodic and relational memory: APOE4 carrier females with higher occupational attainment showed better cognition, whereas APOE4 carrier males showed the opposite effect.

These findings indicate that occupational attainment in mid-life may enhance cognitive reserve against inherited dementia risk in females but not in males. They underscore the necessity for high-precision approaches that account for biological sex and APOE4 carrier status to better inform AD prevention strategies and clinical trials.

Bauermeister, S.D., Yehuda M.B., Reid, G., Gregory, S., Howgego, G., Ritchie, K., Watermeyer, T., Muniz-Terrera, G., Koychev, I.

British Medical Journal (2023)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0271678X231173587

Summary

This study sought to look at the relationship between pre-diabetes (that is resistance of the body tissue to insulin), depressive symptoms and performance on memory tests in 40-59 year olds. Blood samples were analysed to check how responsive the body tissues were to insulin. Scores on a depression symptoms scale was used to assess levels of depression. Results from two computerised tests were used to determine memory and thinking skills. The results found those with evidence of insulin resistance reported higher depression symptoms. Higher insulin resistance in older middle-aged adults may be particularly detrimental to some aspects of memory and thinking as performance was impaired in those aged 50-60 years. The findings show that there are interrelationships between depression, resistance to insulin and cognitive impairment. 

Amy Heneghan, Feng Deng, Katie Wells, Karen Ritchie, Graciela Muniz-Terrera , Craig W Ritchie, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci.

Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (2022).

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-220267

Summary

Mid-life lifestyle factors, including occupation, as well as engagement in physical, social and intellectual activities were evaluated. The impact of risk and protective lifestyle factors was measured in three aspects of cognition, verbal and visual memory, visual short-term memory and visuospatial function. Lifestyle activities significantly impacted cognition in mid-life. More frequent engagement in physically, socially and intellectually stimulating activities was associated with better verbal and visual memory, both at baseline and at follow-up. Critically, a significant association was also found between family history of dementia with lifestyle and visuospatial function, at follow-up. Impaired visuospatial function is one of the earliest cognitive deficits in AD. These findings suggest that modifiable lifestyle activities may offset AD risk-related cognitive decrements in mid-life, and support the targeting of stimulating lifestyle activities for the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Xulin Liu, Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Karen Ritchie, Katie Wells, Craig W. Ritchie, Li Su, Graciela Muniz-Terrera & John T. O’Brien

Journal of Neurology. 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-020-10383-8

Summary
Cardiovascular factors have a strong association with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and brain atrophy. However, until recently, there has been limited longitudinal research in cognitive healthy middle-aged adults investigating these links. A recent PREVENT Dementia study used data from 167 participants in the PREVENT London cohort, to investigate associations between the CAIDE (Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia) score and structural MRI scans at both baseline and 2-year follow up. Participants in the high-risk group (i.e., those with a CAIDE score above 6) were on average, found to have a greater rate of brain atrophy. However, to identify the specific regions and structures driving this atrophy pattern, additional analysis was conducted using voxel based morphometry (VBM).

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