For all warts, internet connection may be positive overall for older adults, new research finds She suggests. The study found that regular reported Internet use was associated with a lower risk of dementia in those over 50 years of age. The greatest possible benefit was seen in people who reported two hours or less. of using the internet compared to anything.
The study was conducted by researchers from New York University. They analyzed data from Study Health and RetirementA government-funded project that tracks the well-being of a representative sample of older Americans through surveys conducted every two years. One of the many questions people were asked in the study was whether or not they were using Internet.
the team It focused on nearly 18,000 adults over the age of 50 who were free of dementia at the start of the study and were followed for up to 17 years. They then divided the participants into two groups, based on whether they said they used the Internet regularly in their initial survey. Another questionnaire assessed people’s cognition, which the researchers used as a measure of dementia status.
The authors found that regular internet users were half as likely to meet dementia criteria as those who reported not using at baseline, even after accounting for other factors such as their pre-existing health. It also appeared that people who continued to report more Internet use in subsequent surveys had a lower risk.
“Together, these findings suggest that regular Internet use may be associated with cognitive longevity,” the authors wrote in their paper. published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Association.
this is not First study To find a relationship between Internet use and reduced risk of dementia in the elderly. But the authors say their analysis is the longest of its kind to examine this potential relationship. The Health and Retirement Study is also a prospective study, meaning it proactively tracks people’s outcomes over time. These studies are generally better at teasing out a cause-and-effect link between two factors — in this case, Internet use reducing dementia risk — than many other types of research.
However, there are still many questions left about this link. The authors also looked at data from a smaller sample of participants who reported how often they used the Internet on a weekly basis. They found a possible U-shaped association between internet hours and dementia risk, with people who spend the least time online and the most time online (between 6 to 8 hours per day) appearing to have the highest risk of dementia. Meanwhile, the lowest risk was seen in those who spent two hours or less on the Internet per day. However, the difference in risk for people connected to the Internet was not statistically significant, possibly due to the smaller sample size available.
There is likely a point of diminishing returns, the authors say, where “excessive online participation may have negative cognitive effects on older adults.” But more research will be needed to find out where this point is. The authors noted that even if Internet use can help reduce dementia risk, this relationship could cut both ways. People who develop dementia may start to use the Internet less over time, for example.
At the very least, this study should inspire other researchers to discover the best balance between staying online and staying mentally alert, according to the scientists. He says.
“Because a person’s online engagement may involve a wide range of activities, future research may identify different patterns of Internet use associated with cognitively healthy living while also taking into account the potential side effects of excessive use,” they wrote.