The number of people living with dementia could reach 78 million worldwide by 2030. This makes finding ways to maintain brain health and promote healthy aging is a public health priority.

One way to do this is to find ways to ease the social isolation many seniors face. Loneliness and isolation can increase dementia risk by up to 50 percent, and one of the best ways to prevent isolation is to participate in social activities.

At the end of the eight-year study period, those who participated in more activities had the slowest decline of cognitive function.

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh recently looked at how dementia-prone parts of the brain work in older people when they are socially active. In an earlier study, the researchers found cells in these parts of the brain, which are responsible for memory, executive functioning and orientation, stayed healthier if older adults socialized with others. In the new study, they found that social activity slowed age-related cognitive decline in the same parts of the brain.

Their findings are more evidence that small doses of social activity may be a simple, side effect-free way to prevent the earliest symptoms of cognitive decline. “Simple social activities that are meaningful to someone can activate brain cells to remain healthy,” Cynthia Felix, lead author on both studies, told TheDoctor in an email.

The current study, published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, followed more than 6,800 Medicare recipients enrolled in the National Health and Aging Trends Study over eight years. Participants ranged from 65 to over 90 years of age.

Community aging programs, bingo, book and gardening groups can all help. So can volunteering. Regular, scheduled activities with others is the goal.

People in the study were asked if they:

  • Lived alone or with others
  • Drove themselves places
  • Had gone somewhere for enjoyment (for dinner or to see a movie, for example) within the last month
  • Participated in clubs or other organized activities
  • Attended religious services
  • Visited family or friends in person
  • Worked for pay
  • Did volunteer work

At the end of the eight-year study period, those who participated in more of these activities had the slowest decline of cognitive function.

Community aging programs, such as the nationwide SilverSneakers programs, bingo, book and gardening groups, can all help. So can volunteering. Regular, scheduled activities with others is the goal.

Seniors should think of social activities as a type of natural exercise for the brain, a variation of the principle of use-it-or-lose-it. “People lose muscles when they don't use them. Likewise…" Felix, a postdoctoral associate in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said.

Results such as these will hopefully mean more care providers encourage aging patients, particularly those who live alone, to make having regular social interactions a priority.