Lifestyle habits and exercise may reduce dementia risk

Dr. Louis Bherer, a neuropsychologist at the Université de Montréal, suggests that adopting specific lifestyle habits, such as physical exercise and cognitive stimulation, could reduce the risk of developing dementia symptoms by as much as half.

While significant funding is directed toward finding a molecular cure for Alzheimer’s disease, Bherer notes that lifestyle factors are often neglected by public health authorities. His research at the EPIC Centre and the Montreal University Institute of Geriatrics focuses on how these habits impact brain health in older adults and patients with cardiovascular disease.

This discussion follows a Statistics Canada study showing a decline in healthy life expectancy in Canada. In 2023, healthy life expectancy was 66.9 years, a decrease of 3.5 years from the peak seen between 2010 and 2012. Bherer observes that the gap between total lifespan and healthy lifespan is widening, noting that nine out of ten people over age 65 possess at least one cardiovascular risk factor, such as inactivity, poor sleep, or high blood pressure.