A healthy lifestyle score provided cognitive benefits even for people who had begun to accumulate dementia-related pathologies in their brains.
Living a healthy lifestyle can help keep your brain sharp into old age, even if it has signs of beta amyloid or tau tangles.
The Mediterranean diet was associated with better cognitive performance proximate to death and independently associated with cognition after adjusting for markers for dementia in the brain after death.
Living a healthy lifestyle can help keep your brain sharp into old age, even if it has signs of beta amyloid or tau tangles. A new study published in JAMA Neurology found that sticking to the Mediterranean diet was associated with better cognitive performance proximate to death and independently associated with cognition after adjusting for markers for dementia in the brain after death. The healthy lifestyle score, which included factors such as a nutritious diet, regular exercise, minimum alcohol consumption and other healthy habits, provided cognitive benefits even for people who had begun to accumulate dementia-related pathologies in their brains.
The Mediterranean diet has been named the No. 1 best diet overall by the U.S. News & World Report for seven years in a row.
A new study published in JAMA Neurology found that sticking to the Mediterranean diet can keep a person's mind sharp into old age, even if their brain shows signs of Alzheimer's disease.
People who followed the Med diet scored higher on cognitive functionality tests despite markers for dementia in the brain after death.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that the Mediterranean diet has been named the No. 1 best diet overall by U.S News & World Report for seven years in a row without providing any context or evidence to support this claim.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when it states that the Mediterranean diet has been named the No. 1 best diet overall by U.S News & World Report for seven years in a row without providing any evidence or citation to support this claim.
The article claims that sticking to the Mediterranean diet can keep a person's mind sharp into old age even if their brain shows signs of Alzheimer's disease, but it does not provide any examples from the study to demonstrate this.
The article states that dementia is a term for impaired ability to remember, think or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities without providing any evidence or citation to support this claim.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains several examples of bias. Firstly, the author uses language that dehumanizes people with Alzheimer's disease by referring to them as 'markers for dementia in the brain'. This is a disrespectful and insensitive way to describe individuals who are suffering from a debilitating condition. Secondly, the article quotes an October 2023 study that found that the Mediterranean diet may help reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder via the gut microbiome. However, this study is not directly related to Alzheimer's disease and should not be used as evidence for its effectiveness in treating or preventing it. Finally, the article uses language that implies a causal relationship between following the Mediterranean diet and cognitive decline prevention without providing any concrete evidence.
The article quotes an October 2023 study that found that the Mediterranean diet may help reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder via the gut microbiome, but this is not directly related to Alzheimer's disease
The author implies a causal relationship between following the Mediterranean diet and cognitive decline prevention without providing any concrete evidence
The author refers to people with Alzheimer's disease as 'markers for dementia in the brain'
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Brooke Steinberg has a conflict of interest on the topic of Alzheimer's disease as she is reporting for Rush University in Chicago which conducts research and provides treatment related to this condition. Additionally, her article mentions autopsy data and amyloid beta and tau tangles, topics that are also relevant to Alzheimer's disease.
Brooke Steinberg is reporting for Rush University in Chicago which conducts research and provides treatment related to Alzheimer's disease.
The article mentions autopsy data which is a method used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Brooke Steinberg has a conflict of interest on the topic of Alzheimer's disease as she is reporting for Rush University in Chicago which conducts research and provides treatment related to this condition. Additionally, her article mentions cognitive function tests and autopsy data which are also relevant to Alzheimer's disease.
The author reports on a study conducted by Rush University in Chicago that found the Mediterranean diet may protect against signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Nearly 40% of dementia cases can be prevented with one small health change
Healthy lifestyle changes provide cognitive benefits even for people who have begun to accumulate dementia-related pathologies in their brains
The presence of Alzheimer's or another neurological disorder did not seem to matter as the healthy lifestyle changes provided brain resilience against some of the most common causes of dementia
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(75%)
The article is deceptive in that it implies a healthy lifestyle can prevent all forms of dementia. The study only found that the presence of beta-amyloid or tau tangles did not seem to matter as long as the participants followed a healthy lifestyle. This misrepresents the findings and creates false hope for those looking to prevent dementia.
Lead author Dr. Klodian Dhana says, 'We found that the lifestyle-cognition association was independent of Alzheimer's disease pathology burden.' This implies a direct cause and effect relationship between healthy lifestyle and prevention of dementia which is not supported by the study.
The article states, 'For every 1-point increase in the healthy lifestyle score used in the study, there were 0.120 units less beta-amyloid load in the brain.' This implies that a higher healthier lifestyle directly reduces beta amyloid burden which is not supported by the study.
The article states, 'Nearly 40% of dementia cases can be prevented with one small health change'.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article discusses a study that found that living a healthy lifestyle can help keep your brain sharp into old age. The author also mentions the presence of beta-amyloid or tau in people's brains and how it does not seem to matter if they have begun to accumulate dementia-related pathologies, as long as their lifestyles provide resilience against some of the most common causes of dementia. The study found that a healthy lifestyle was associated with better cognitive performance even after accounting for the combined burden of brain pathologies.
The article mentions that living a healthy lifestyle can help keep your brain sharp into old age.
Bias
(85%)
The article suggests that a healthy lifestyle can help keep your brain sharp into old age and protect against cognitive decline even for people who have begun to accumulate dementia-related pathologies in their brains. The study found the presence of Alzheimer's or another neurological disorder did not seem to matter as long as the lifestyle changes provided the brain resilience against some of the most common causes of dementia.
The article suggests that a healthy lifestyle can help keep your brain sharp into old age and protect against cognitive decline even for people who have begun to accumulate dementia-related pathologies in their brains.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
There are multiple examples of conflicts of interest in this article. The author has a financial stake in the company that produces brain-training games and is also affiliated with an organization that promotes healthy living.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of Klodian Dhana as they are affiliated with him. The article does not disclose this conflict.
The Mediterranean diet has been named the No. 1 best diet overall by the U.S. News & World Report for seven years in a row.
A new study published in JAMA Neurology found that sticking to the Mediterranean diet can keep a person's mind sharp into old age, even if their brain shows signs of Alzheimer's disease.
People who followed the Med diet scored higher on cognitive functionality tests despite markers for dementia in the brain after death.
Accuracy
Cognitive function was better for older adults with healthy lifestyles even if they had Alzheimer's or other dementia-related pathologies.
A 1-point increase in a healthy lifestyle score was associated with better cognitive performance proximate to death (r=0.216, p<0.001).
Healthy lifestyle scores were independently associated with cognition after adjusting for beta-amyloid load (r= 236, p<5), phosphorylated tau tangle pathology (r = 236, p<5) or global Alzheimer's disease pathology (r= 236, p<5).
The study is one of the first to harness brain pathology to investigate how modifiable risk factors are associated with dementia and may help researchers better understand how these factors impact cognitive aging.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title suggests that healthy lifestyles can preserve cognition even if someone has Alzheimer's or other dementia-related pathologies. However, this claim is not supported by the study as it only shows a correlation between lifestyle and cognitive performance proximate to death after adjusting for beta-amyloid load, phosphorylated tau tangle pathology, or global Alzheimer's disease pathology. Secondly, the article states that up to 40% of dementia cases may be prevented or delayed by modifying 12 risk factors but does not provide any evidence for this claim. Thirdly, the study uses autopsy data which is not a reliable method for measuring cognitive function as it cannot capture changes in cognition over time. Lastly, the article quotes an expert who states that there are critical questions regarding the mechanistic pathways linking modifiable risk factors and cognitive aging but does not provide any evidence or insights into these mechanisms.
The title of the article suggests that healthy lifestyles can preserve cognition even if someone has Alzheimer's or other dementia-related pathologies. This is a false claim as there is no evidence to support this in the study.
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(85%)
The article discusses the relationship between healthy lifestyles and cognitive function in older adults with dementia-related pathologies. The author uses autopsy data to show that a higher lifestyle score is associated with better cognitive performance proximate to death after adjusting for beta-amyloid load, phosphorylated tau tangle pathology, or global Alzheimer's disease pathology. However, the article also mentions that epidemiological studies have shown a role of lifestyle in dementia risk but it is not clear whether a healthy lifestyle can boost cognitive reserve - the ability to preserve cognition despite brain pathology independently of dementia-related brain pathologies. The author uses data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which includes up to 24 years of follow-up and autopsy data, but it is not clear if this study sample is representative of the general population or if lifestyle factors were self-reported.
A higher lifestyle score was associated with better cognitive performance proximate to death after adjusting for beta-amyloid load, phosphorylated tau tangle pathology, or global Alzheimer's disease pathology.
The study sample consisted mainly of white volunteers who agreed to annual evaluations and postmortem organ donation, limiting the generalizability of the findings to others.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article discusses the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and healthy lifestyle choices. The author is Klodian Dhana, MD, PhD who works at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Yue Leng, PhD who works at the University of California San Francisco.
The article discusses a study that found that individuals with Alzheimer's disease who followed a healthy lifestyle had better cognitive function than those who did not. The author mentions Klodian Dhana, MD, PhD as being involved in this study.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of beta-amyloid load as they are affiliated with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago which is involved in research related to this topic.
Building a cognitive reserve in the aging brain may prevent dementia
Healthy living is linked to lower rates of dementia, but how it works its neurological magic is not well understood
The study found that every one-point increase in a person's lifestyle score was associated with a rise in their global cognitive score at the end of life
Accuracy
Healthy living is linked to lower rates of dementia
Reductions in amyloid plaque might account for 11.6% of the lifestyle/cognition relationship
Deception
(85%)
I found several examples of deceptive practices in this article. The author uses emotional manipulation and sensationalism to make the reader believe that living a healthy lifestyle can prevent dementia. However, the study only shows a correlation between healthy lifestyles and better cognitive function at the end-of-life, not causation.
New research suggests healthy lifestyles can help stave off dementia
good nutrition, regular exercise and other factors may instead provide a cognitive reserve that buffers against negative changes going on within the brain—allowing older folk to maintain cognitive abilities over time.
The study was based on brain autopsies on 586 people who lived to an average age of almost 91. Researchers compared each person’s lifestyle and end-of-life mental skills to their neurological signs of dementia, such as brain protein plaques or changes in brain blood flow.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by citing a study that suggests healthy lifestyles can help stave off dementia. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when stating that good nutrition, regular exercise and other factors may provide a cognitive reserve that buffers against negative changes going on within the brain. Additionally, there is an example of dichotomous depiction in the statement 'You can almost sort of cheat the biology a little bit and still not get the symptomatology as early' which implies that healthy living will prevent dementia completely when it only delays its onset.
The study suggests that good nutrition, regular exercise and other factors may provide a cognitive reserve that buffers against negative changes going on within the brain.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
Ernie Mundell has a conflict of interest on the topic of healthy living and cognitive reserve as he is affiliated with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago which conducts research on brain autopsies.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
Ernie Mundell has conflicts of interest on the topics of healthy living, cognitive reserve, dementia prevention, brain autopsies and lifestyle factors. He is affiliated with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Northwell Health in Uniondale NY.
