Are multidomain lifestyle interventions useful at preventing dementia?

Recently, multidomain lifestyle interventions have been introduced to reduce the risk of dementia development. These interventions incorporate multiple physical and cognitive protective lifestyle factors such as social engagement and the management of chronic health conditions (including obesity, smoking and cardiovascular disease) in order to reduce neurological damage associated with dementia and increase cognitive reserve.

A recent paper reviewed randomized controlled trials (what researchers consider the gold standard) on the effects these multidomain lifestyle interventions have on dementia prevention. They found that in general, these practices can be effective in reducing dementia risk and increasing cognitive function, however, more large-scale high-quality studies are required in order to determine the effects of multidomain interventions.

This is good news for us, as these interventions are easy to implement into our own lives, and may help reduce the development of dementia.