Nearly all Michiganders age 50 and older say it’s very important to keep their brains healthy as they age, according to a new poll.
However, less than half (47%) of middle-aged and older Michigan residents know that everyday actions can be very important in reducing future dementia risk.
And half or fewer practice at least one of four key habits every day or most days that can protect their brain health as they age.
The poll’s findings come at a time when research is clearly showing links between dementia risk and lifestyle factors, such as what people eat and drink. how much sleep, social interaction, and mental and physical activity do they get? and how well they manage their cholesterol, weight and hearing loss.
The data comes from the Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging, based at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Health Policy and Innovation. Full poll report and interactive data table available.
Michigan adults age 50 and older were less likely than their counterparts nationally to believe that lifestyle factors are very important in maintaining brain health. Overall, 70% of them said so, compared to 76% of people of the same age in other states.
The poll also finds regional differences in Michigan. People aged 50 and over in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula were less likely to believe that healthy lifestyle behaviors are very important in reducing the risk of dementia.
“Broader public education about brain health, based on efforts like the Alzheimer’s Association’s 10 Healthy Habits for the Brain initiative, could go a long way toward encouraging middle-aged to older adults in Michigan to develop healthy habits that reduce the risk of cognitive decline.”
Scott Roberts, Ph.D., Associate Director of the National Survey on Healthy Aging and Professor, University of Michigan School of Public Health
“At the same time, it is also important to educate the elderly to be wary of ‘too good to be true’ products, such as nutritional supplements now being marketed to maintain brain health,” he said.
Roberts and the rest of the survey team worked with the Alzheimer’s Association to collect and analyze data on of the organization recent national report on brain health in america. This national survey, which assessed knowledge of brain-protective activities in people age 40 and older, informed the annual update of the agency’s influential Alzheimer’s disease report, Facts and Figures.
The Michigan-specific poll involved people age 50 and older, the focus population for the ongoing Michigan Healthy Aging Poll sponsored by the Michigan Health Fund and Michigan Medicine, UM’s academic medical center.
Roberts will discuss the findings in a June 30 webinar presented by the Alzheimer’s Center of Michigan. Participation is free but registration is required.
Key lifestyle factors for brain health
The survey listed 15 health and lifestyle factors commonly associated with a lower risk of dementia and asked respondents to rate how important each is to maintaining brain health.
The percentage of older adults rating each as very important for brain health varied widely:
- 80% to prevent head injuries
- 71% for managing stress, not smoking and treating depression
- 70% for blood pressure control
- 58% to limit alcohol
- 57% for maintaining a healthy weight
- 54% for cholesterol management
- 53% to treat hearing loss
The survey also asked Michigan residents 50 and older how often they do activities known to help maintain brain function. Percentage who reported doing these activities every day or most days of the week:
- Sleep 7 or more hours: 54%
- Do mentally stimulating activities: 48%
- Eat a healthy balanced diet: 40%
- Get some form of daily physical activity, including walking or stretching: 36%
Each of these factors was rated as very important for brain health by 61% to 68% of all respondents.
Roberts recently presented the findings at a summit of the Michigan Dementia Coalition, a statewide organization that brings together academics, government, nonprofit representatives, caregivers and patients. Roberts is the Principal Chief of Communications, Recruiting & Engagement at the Alzheimer’s Center of Michigan.
According to the Michigan chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, 11% of people over the age of 65 in Michigan have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Their family and friends provide more than 680 million hours of unpaid care for them each year.
The role of health professionals
Preventing dementia or delaying it as much as possible through lifestyle changes in midlife and earlier is crucial, said poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the UM School of Medicine and a primary care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.
“Health care providers across our state and our nation could do much more to help our patients understand the connection between the lifestyle choices they make today and their future brain health,” he said. “Our state’s adult population has high rates of risk factors for dementia, and we need to work together to address them at every age.”
Most older Michigan residents said they would like to learn more about brain health from their health care provider.
But these conversations aren’t common: just 23% had discussed the issue with their provider. Among Michigan residents age 65 and older, 30 percent had had a cognitive screening test in the past year, which can help detect the early stages of dementia.
While universal cognitive testing for all people over 65 has not been recommended by all national organisations, a simple cognitive test can be done as part of a routine check-up, especially if someone is worried about their memory or thinking ability, or if a loved one has expressed concern.
New prescription drugs designed to slow decline in the early stages of cognitive decline have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in recent years. So get blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers (eg amyloid, tau) that can help with diagnosis and early detection.
However, there is no cure for dementia at any stage, making prevention vital.
The Michigan Healthy Aging Poll includes data from 1,293 Michigan adults ages 50 to 93 from the NORC AmeriSpeak panel and additional nonprobability panel participants, who were compared to 2,808 non-Michigan adults ages 50 to 98. The survey was conducted online and by telephone2 in January20
