DOING DISHES CUTS ALZHEIMER’S RISK

Household jobs offer 21% protection

CHORES such as washing up and gardening cut the risk of Alzheimer’s by 21%, a study suggests.

Housework was the second biggest protective activity behind brisk walks and bike rides, which cut cases by 35%.

Meeting up with family and friends was linked to 15% lower rates, Sichuan University in China found.

Lead author Prof Huan Song said: “We wanted to know more about a wide variety of lifestyle habits and their potential role in the prevention of dementia.”

The team analysed health data from 501,376 older people.

Those who did the most physical and mental activities were least likely to be diagnosed with dementia over an average 11-year follow-up period. Similar patterns were identified when the amount of time all participants spent in the study was added up – a statistical technique known as person-years.

Dementia rates in people who exercised frequently were 0.45 cases for every 1,000 person-years, compared to 1.59 for those who did not.

People who did lots of household chores had a rate of 0.86 cases, rising to 1.02 among peers who did not. Those who met family daily had a rate of 0.62 cases, increasing to 0.8 for those who only saw them once every few months.

A separate study using the same Biobank data from the UK found every 10% increase in daily junk food intake raised the risk of dementia by 25%.

The heavily processed products are high in added sugar, fat and salt and low in protein and fibre and include burgers, pizza, ice cream and cakes.

Scientists followed more than 73,000 over-55s for an average of 10 years.

Lead author Dr Huiping Li, of Tianjin Medical University in China, said: “Ultraprocessed foods are associated with an increased risk of dementia, but also replacing them with healthy options may decrease dementia risk.”