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. 2012 Mar;18(2):286-94.
doi: 10.1017/S135561771100169X. Epub 2011 Dec 15.

Lifestyle activities and memory: variety may be the spice of life. The women's health and aging study II

Michelle C Carlson  1 , Jeanine M Parisi, Jin Xia, Qian-Li Xue, George W Rebok, Karen Bandeen-Roche, Linda P Fried
Affiliations

Lifestyle activities and memory: variety may be the spice of life. The women's health and aging study II

Michelle C Carlson et al. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

This study examined whether participation in a variety of lifestyle activities was comparable to frequent participation in cognitively challenging activities in mitigating impairments in cognitive abilities susceptible to aging in healthy, community-dwelling older women. Frequencies of participation in various lifestyle activities on the Lifestyle Activities Questionnaire (LAQ) were divided according to high (e.g., reading), moderate (e.g., discussing politics), and low (e.g., watching television) cognitive demand. We also considered the utility of participation in a variety of lifestyle activities regardless of cognitive challenge. Immediate and delayed verbal recall, psychomotor speed, and executive function were each measured at baseline and at five successive exams, spanning a 9.5-year interval. Greater variety of participation in activities, regardless of cognitive challenge, was associated with an 8 to 11% reduction in the risk of impairment in verbal memory and global cognitive outcomes. Participation in a variety of lifestyle activities was more predictive than frequency or level of cognitive challenge for significant reductions in risk of incident impairment on measures sensitive to cognitive aging and risk for dementia. Our findings offer new perspectives in promoting a diverse repertoire of activities to mitigate age-related cognitive declines.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Box plots of 23 everyday activities rank-ordered by a panel of cognitive psychologists according to relative level of cognitive demand, from least (left) to most (right) demanding.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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