Since the advent of computers, video games and the Internet, we have heard endlessly about how our brains will rot. A group of scientists has begun work on a test that studies cognitive changes from the use of certain technologies. Curiously, they found just the opposite, namely that regular Internet use appears to reduce the likelihood of developing dementia in older people.
Here’s what they commented in the August edition Journal of the American Geriatric Society (AGS). Here, the authors of an article from the New York School of Public Health go to work to find out the impact of the Internet on older adults and its link to dementia. From my side, lack of information in this area was one of the main motives conduct research.
To do this, the researchers used data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study. who studied about 20,000 older Americans. Thus, a population of adults without dementia between the ages of 50 and 65 was taken.
The longitudinal study, conducted by the University of Michigan, was conducted over a period of 17 years, starting in 2002 and ending in 2018. In addition, it was repeated every two years to keep track of the population. Researchers from the Health and Pension Survey surveyed a group of 20,000 older adults. Americans, if they used the Internet regularly. In the case of a positive answer, the time of use was set.
According to his research, 65% of the population said they regularly use the Internet and 21% noted a change in their habits during the period of participation. Unfortunately, another one percent of older adults died or developed dementia during the study period.
The Internet can be a great ally for older people with dementia and related conditions.
The results of the study show a low likelihood of developing dementia in older people who regularly use the Internet. Specifically, only 1.54% of active users are at risk of getting the disease in the future.. On the contrary, we have 10.54% of the population at risk among those who do not use digital platforms.
On the other hand, by measuring the time it took participants to develop dementia, it was estimated that older people who constantly used the Internet were twice as likely to be affected. This is, of course, compared to a group of people who didn’t.
While the results seem to suggest that Internet use reduces the risk of cognitive decline, there is some fine print here as well. As the AGS clarifies, overuse of this technology also appears to be associated with the development of dementia in the elderly.. Calculations show that the risk is higher for those who swim more than two hours a day.
However, It remains to delve into this study. According to Claire Sexton of the Alzheimer’s Association, it is necessary to explore the reasons why the Internet can be a determining factor when it comes to the development (or lack of it) of dementia in older people.
Source: Hiper Textual
