Sedentary Behavior and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults
This study examined whether sitting for long periods, known as sedentary behavior, is linked to the development of dementia in older adults. They collected data from over 49,000 adults aged 60 or older who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study.
The results showed that spending more time sitting was associated with a higher risk of dementia. Specifically, for each additional hour of sitting per day, the risk of dementia increased. Longer periods of uninterrupted sitting and the maximum time spent sitting in a day were also associated with a higher dementia risk.
In summary, sitting for extended periods was linked to a greater risk of developing dementia in older adults. However, more research is needed to confirm whether sitting directly causes dementia.
Raichlen DAAslan DHSayre MK, et al. Sedentary Behavior and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults. JAMA. 2023;330(10):934–940. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.15231
