Healthy heart, healthy brain

The brain begins to decline much earlier than previously thought, with research showing memory, reasoning and comprehension skills can deteriorate from the age of 45.

But the good news is that the onset of dementia can be delayed by living a healthy lifestyle, with the research also indicating that ‘‘what is good for the heart is good for the brain’’.

The international study of 7000 men and women during a 10-year period, published online by the medical journal BMJ, challenges previous research that suggests the brain’s cognitive decline begins at 60.

Participants’ cognitive functions were assessed three times during the study for memory, vocabulary and aural and visual comprehension skills.

The results showed that cognitive scores declined in all categories except vocabulary and there was faster decline in older people.

The findings revealed that during the study there was a 3.6 per cent decline in mental reasoning in men aged 45-49 and a 9.6 per cent decline in those aged 65-70.

The corresponding figures for women were 3.6 per cent for the 45-49 group and 7.4 per cent for 65-70.

Associate Professor John Stevens, from the School of Health and Human Services at Southern Cross University in New South Wales, says people who suffer from risk factors for heart disease could safeguard themselves from dementia by following a healthy lifestyle.

‘‘The same lifestyle risk factors that cause abnormal decline in heart health and function – obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels – affect the cognitive health and rate of decline of the brain in similar ways.’’

The findings provide new insights into the processes of normal ageing, he said.

‘‘The study was not designed to predict the relationships that might tell us when abnormal cognitive decline begins, such as with Alzheimer’s Disease, [but] it provides a . . . starting point for new research into this area,’’ Prof Stevens said.

‘‘With populations all over the world . . . ageing, then new knowledge like this about the ageing brain can be added to the thinking and researching of a diverse range of paradigms, including dementia, lifestyle medicine and health, education, design, IT and town planning, for example.’’