Senior Golfing Lowers Dementia Risk by Up to 37%

Rapid Mental Calculation Helps Prevent Cognitive Decline... Maintaining Social Networks by Engaging with Others

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[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] A study has found that men who enjoy golf after retirement have a lower risk of developing dementia.

Researchers at the Social Health Research Center in Tokyo, Japan, reported in a paper published online on March 29 (local time) in the prestigious journal JAMA Network Open that men aged 61 and older who regularly and leisurely engage in exercises like golf have up to a 37% reduced risk of being diagnosed with dementia.

The researchers noted that activities such as reading the line of the ball on the green or quickly calculating mentally to avoid bunkers contribute to preventing cognitive decline. While golf is a form of exercise, its social aspect of playing with others also plays a role in dementia prevention.

However, these effects were not observed in elderly women.

Previous studies have shown that factors such as social isolation increase the likelihood of suffering from dementia due to a lack of interpersonal relationships.

Currently, there is no definitive way to prevent dementia. Experts advise that maintaining heart health through regular exercise and relying on a healthy diet are the best strategies.

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The researchers collected and analyzed health data from 43,896 Japanese individuals with an average age of 61 between 2000 and 2003. Participants were asked detailed questions about their daily activities.

Each daily activity was assigned a score based on energy expenditure. Sitting was scored as 1.3, golf as 3.0, and so on.

The researchers compared these scores with dementia diagnosis cases from 2006 to 2016. During this period, 5,010 participants were diagnosed with dementia.

As a result, no clear correlation was found between moderate or vigorous exercise and reduced dementia risk.

However, a more detailed analysis of the same data revealed that men who exercised leisurely and frequently had the lowest probability of developing dementia.

Men in the top 25% by exercise amount had a 37% lower chance of being diagnosed with dementia three years after the study began. This result accounted for other risk factors such as smoking, drinking, and body mass index (BMI).

Nine years after the study began, men who exercised relatively more had a 28% lower risk of dementia compared to those who exercised the least. However, similar effects were not found in women.

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Noriyoshi Sawada, former director of the Social Health Research Center and lead of this study, said, "Leisure activities involving cognitive engagement help prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Sports like golf and tennis, which are played with others, lead to social activities that also help prevent cognitive decline and dementia."

So why do women not show the same effects? Sawada speculated that women may already experience similar benefits through their daily activities. Household chores involve cognitive engagement, and women tend to have broader social networks than men.

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) recommends that adults aged 66 and older engage in at least 150 minutes of moderately intense activity per week.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.