Where older adults live may play a big role in their dementia risk

Could the secret to fighting dementia be right in our living rooms? That’s the intriguing result of new research by healthy aging experts with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health.

“We found that compared to nursing home residents, older adults in home-like settings showed a lower risk of dementia—even with similar levels of mental games and activities,” said study co-author Jungjoo “Jay” Lee, PhD. “This suggests that the comfort of home and neighborhood social interactions provide a unique kind of ‘brain fuel’ that helps them stay mentally sharper.”

He added that while activities such as playing games and solving puzzles are known to prevent cognitive decline, and social isolation and loneliness contribute to cognitive decline, this study was the first to assess the relationship between cognitive activities, the risk of dementia and residential setting.

For their study, Lee and co-author Junhyoung “Paul” Kim, PhD, tracked data on more than 18,000 adults 60 years old and older in the Health and Retirement Study from 2012 to 2020. A total of 804 participants (4.4%) were newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia during the study period.

This study considered participants’ comorbidities such as heart attack, stroke and depression, which are associated with an elevated risk of dementia.

“We found that where older adults live plays a major role in their brain health,” Kim said. “Those in nursing homes were over 3.57 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or related dementias compared to those living in their own homes or neighborhoods.”

In addition, people who engage in activities that engage the mind—such as reading, writing and hobbies—three to four times a week and who live at home saw their risk for developing dementia drop by 12%, while those in nursing homes saw only a 2% reduction.

“This study highlights how much the residential settings shape opportunities for cognitive engagement,” Kim said. He added that older adults who live in community settings usually are more independent and have more access to mentally stimulating leisure activities and to other people, which leads to more community engagement.

On the other hand, he said people living in nursing homes often have fewer opportunities to socialize with others, less access to books, games and other brain-stimulating items, as well as health needs that make living at home impractical.

“For them, our findings suggest two ways to help lower their chances of developing dementia: personalized technology such as apps with brain-training programs made just for them and opportunities to build friendships that are more like those found in neighborhood settings,” he said.