A study by scientists at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, found that more frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The research looked at everyday activities like reading books, newspapers or magazines, engaging in crosswords or card games, and going to museums among participants in the Religious Orders Study, an ongoing examination of aging among older Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers from several groups across the U.S. On a scale measuring cognitive activity -- with higher scores indicating more frequent activity -- a one-point increase in cognitive activity corresponded with a 33 per cent reduction in the risk of AD.

The examination of cognitively stimulating activities and risk of AD was conducted by Robert S. Wilson, and colleagues at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, including David A. Bennett, principal investigator for the Religious Orders Study, and Denis A. Evans, director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)-supported Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center. The NIA is part of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

The findings are likely to strike a chord among middle-aged and older people interested in preserving cognitive health.

The study followed over 700 dementia-free participants age 65 and older for an average of 4.5 years from their initial assessments. At baseline and then yearly, some 21 cognitive tests were administered to assess various aspects of memory, language, attention, and spatial ability. At the initial evaluations, participants also were asked about time typically spent in seven common activities that significantly involve information processing - viewing television; listening to the radio; reading newspapers or magazines; reading books; playing games such as cards, checkers, crosswords, or other puzzles; and going to museums. The frequency of participating in each activity was rated on a five-point scale, with the highest point assigned to participating in an activity every day or about every day and the lowest point to engaging in an activity once a year or less.

During the follow-up period, 111 people in the study developed AD. In comparing the levels of cognitive activity with diagnosis of AD, the researchers found that the frequency of activity was related to the risk of developing AD. For each one point increase in the participants' scores on the scale of cognitive activities, the risk of developing AD decreased by 33 per cent. On average, compared with someone with the lowest activity level, the risk of disease was reduced by 47 percent among those whose frequency of activity was highest.

The researchers also looked at general cognitive decline among the participants. Over the period of the study, the group of older people showed modest age-related declines on several types of memory and information processing tests. There were lower rates of decline, however, in working memory, perceptual speed, and episodic memory among people who did more cognitively stimulating activities.