Using Computers and Playing Games: An Effective Strategy to Reduce the Risk of Dementia

18 July 2023, 09:43 PM IST

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Using computers and playing games like chess can reduce the risk of dementia in older adults, researchers have found. According to the study, these are more beneficial than sewing and painting. Researchers from Monash University in Australia are behind the study.

JAMA Network is openA related study has been published. Researchers believe that this discovery will help reduce the risk of dementia in the future.

The study was conducted by collecting data from 10,318 people aged 70 and above from Australia. The researchers found that those who were active in engaging in educational classes, cramming in daily tasks, and completing word problems were 11 percent less likely to develop dementia than their peers.

Engaging in crafts, sewing, painting and reading has been found to reduce the risk of dementia by up to seven per cent. At the same time, the researchers also stated that social interactions such as going out, watching a movie, or going to a restaurant did not reduce the risk of dementia.

Joan Ryan, Associate Professor at Monash University, said there was a huge global focus on finding factors that could help prevent dementia.

The researchers also say that it is preferable to engage in the above types of activities that keep the mind active rather than passive recreational activities.

A few things about dementia

55 million people worldwide are living with dementia. The World Health Organization also reports that there are 10 million new cases of dementia every year.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common dementias worldwide. Alzheimer’s accounts for about 60-70 percent of dementia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generally defines dementia as a condition that disrupts daily activities due to the inability to remember, think, and make decisions.

WHO indicates that this disease has many physical, psychological, social and economic consequences. It affects not only patients, but also their caregivers, families, and society.

Dementia sufferers have various symptoms like memory loss, inattentiveness, communication problems, reduced thinking ability, reduced ability to make decisions, reduced ability to solve problems, forgetting familiar surroundings, using unfamiliar words to describe familiar objects, forgetting the names of close family members, erasing old memories, and not being able to do anything independently. According to the list released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This will be different for each person.

If the symptoms are detected early, the disease can be properly managed. Early detection can help treat physical ailments that accompany dementia, understand behavioral changes, and provide information to caregivers of patients.