To determine whether leisure activities modify the risk for incident dementia.
Although high educational and occupational attainments have been associated with reduced
risk of incident dementia, the relation between leisure activities and dementia risk
has not been adequately investigated.
A total of 1,772 nondemented individuals aged 65 years or older, living in northern
Manhattan, New York, were identified and followed longitudinally in a community-based
cohort incidence study. Subjects' leisure activities at baseline were assessed, annual
examinations with the same standardized neurologic and neuropsychological measures
were performed for up to 7 years (mean 2.9 years), and incident dementia was assessed
as the main outcome measure. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for age, ethnic
group, education, and occupation, were used to estimate the relative risk (RR) of
incident dementia associated with high leisure activities.
Of the 1,772 subjects, 207 became demented. The risk of dementia was decreased in
subjects with high leisure activities (RR, 0.62; 95% CI 0.46 to 0.83). The association
of high leisure with decreased RR of incident dementia was present even when baseline
cognitive performance, health limitations interfering with desired leisure activities,
cerebrovascular disease, and depression were considered.
The data suggest that engagement in leisure activities may reduce the risk of incident
dementia, possibly by providing a reserve that delays the onset of clinical manifestations
of the disease.