Household chores could lower risk of dementia, study finds

Regularly doing household chores and having daily visits from friends and family could help to reduce one's risk of developing dementia, a new study suggests.

Researchers analysed health data from over 500,000 people participating in the UK Biobank, a long-term study which collects in-depth environmental, lifestyle and genetic data.

The participants, who had an average age of 56, were asked how often they engaged in physical activities like climbing stairs and performing menial house tasks. 

They were also questioned about how often they received visits from loved ones, visited the pub and participated in social and religious groups. 

After 11 years, scientists found those who exercised regularly were at a 35 per cent lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who didn’t.

People who performed household chores had a 21 per cent lower risk of developing the disease.

“These results highlight the importance of leisure time physical exercise, housework-related activity, and active social contact in the prevention of dementia for the elderly population,” the authors concluded. 

Daily visits with family and friends were found to have lowered the risk of dementia by 15 per cent, compared with people who were less socially engaged.

The study, recently published in Neurology, joins a growing chorus of research tying physical and mental activity to lower dementia risk.

Another study featured in the same journal found that eating ultra processed foods was associated with a 25 percent higher risk of developing dementia.

People who regularly consumed whole foods, however, such as whole grains, legumes and beans and fruits, had a 34 per cent lower risk of the disease.

The authors said that simply eating half an apple, a serving of corn, or a bowl of bran cereal, and simultaneously decreasing ultra-processed foods by 50 grams a day, can also reduce risk by 3 per cent.

“It's encouraging to know that small and manageable changes in diet may make a difference in a person's risk of dementia," study author Huiping Li wrote in a statement.

In Australia, the number of people living with dementia is expected to double from 487,600 in 2022 to 1.1 million by 2058.

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