A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests that regular internet use could help lower the risk of dementia in older adults. Researchers analyzed data from 18,000 older adults aged 50 to 64.9, who were part of the Health and Retirement Study conducted by the University of Michigan, the National Institute on Aging, and the Social Security Administration. The study found that those who regularly used the internet had about half the risk of developing dementia compared to those who didn’t use it often.
Previous studies have also indicated better cognitive performance, verbal reasoning, and memory among internet users. However, it is important to note that this type of study cannot establish cause and effect. Further research is needed to fully understand how the internet affects dementia risk and how certain types of internet use impact cognitive function in older adults.
Dementia is a set of symptoms that includes loss of memory and intellectual functioning. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, affects over 6 million Americans aged 65 and older. The number of Alzheimer’s patients is expected to grow to about 12 million by 2050 as the population increases.
The research team also analyzed the risk of dementia based on the number of hours spent using the internet daily. The lowest risk was found among those who used the internet for two hours or less per day, and the highest risk was associated with those who spent six to eight hours online daily. However, these findings were not statistically significant, possibly due to a small sample size for these specific groups.
Additional studies are needed to determine whether excessive internet use could potentially harm cognitive health in older adults. The authors of the study suggest that too much time spent online might lead to reduced in-person social interactions and disengagement from the real world, which could negatively affect cognitive health.
While the relationship between internet use and dementia risk may be bidirectional, further research is needed to clarify the association. The Alzheimer’s Association is conducting a two-year clinical trial, the U.S. Pointer Study, to measure the effects of lifestyle interventions targeting dementia risk factors.
It is worth noting that dementia affects people of color disproportionately. Older Black Americans are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s or other types, and older Hispanic Americans are up to 1.5 times as likely as white individuals. However, the study found that internet use was associated with similar risks regardless of race or educational level, after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.
