Computer vs zomboyashchik

Using a computer in old age reduced the risk of dementia

Sergey Zadvoryev, N+1

Using a computer at the age of 60-69 reduces the risk of dementia by 15 percent, and watching TV increases it by 24 percent. American epidemiologists came to such conclusions after studying the data of 146 thousand residents of the UK. The results of the study are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Raichlen et al., Leisure-time sedentary behaviors are differently associated with all-cause dementia regardless of engagement in physical activity).

Hypodynamia and dementia have a mutual connection: on the one hand, low physical activity increases the risk of cognitive impairment. On the other hand, against the background of loss of memory, attention, will and skills, a person's household activity naturally decreases.

In a sitting position, a person usually spends less than one and a half amounts of the basic exchange. But at the same time, sedentary leisure can be cognitively passive (watching TV) or active (reading, board games or a computer). Some previous studies have shown that the risks of cardiovascular diseases in them differ, although the level of energy consumption seems comparable. There is evidence that people who prefer to relax at the computer perform better on intelligence tests than those who prefer TV. But this applies to one-time tests, and there has been no data on the long-term risks of developing dementia in people who prefer different types of passive rest until now.

To understand whether the risks associated with different types of inactivity differ, epidemiologists from the Universities of Texas and Southern California, led by Gene Alexander, retrospectively studied the data of 146 thousand people registered in the UK biobank and initially did not have dementia.

At the time of inclusion in the register (in 2006-2010), all the surveyed were from 60 to 69 years old. During the follow-up period of 11.87 ± 1.17 years, about 3.5 thousand cases of dementia were registered. Due to the comprehensive nature of the data in the biobank, the researchers were able to take into account a large set of demographic indicators, the spectrum of bad habits, concomitant diseases, social environment, the nature of nutrition and the presence of a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease (an unfavorable allele of the APOE4 gene). At the stage of inclusion in the register, all participants learned the level of physical activity and preferences in terms of passive rest. On average, the surveyed watched TV 3.39 ± 1.86 hours a day, spent 0.93 hours a day at the computer (the lower limit of the average tertile was 0.5 hours, the upper one was one hour).

After adjusting for concomitant factors, physical activity (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.99, p=0.015) and computer use (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.81–0.90, p<0.0001) turned out to be anti-risk factors of dementia. Watching TV, on the contrary, increased the risk of dementia by almost a quarter (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.15–1.32, p<0.0001). The more time a person spent watching TV (p<3×10-6) or at the computer (p<3×10-11), the stronger the influence of the factor on the risk of dementia.

To check whether the difference is caused by the fact that there are initially more undiagnosed dementia patients among those who watched TV, the authors separately analyzed the data of those who were diagnosed with dementia after five years from the start of observation (usually about as long as it takes from the appearance of signs of senile dementia to diagnosis). After recalculation of the data, the influence of different types of passive rest on cognitive health remained the same up to the same risk ratio coefficients. The correction for the level of physical activity also did not change the nature of the influence of the TV and computer.

Thus, the authors of the study conclude, it turned out to be important not only to take into account the fact of inactivity itself, but also what a person is doing at the same time. Scientists have offered probable explanations for the difference between a computer and a TV.

Firstly, it may be a matter of physical activity. A comparison of energy consumption for different types of sedentary lifestyle shows that watching TV and typing are not equal for a person, and, for example, the difference in energy consumption when playing video games on the console and when watching TV at all can reach one and a half times. In addition, the most popular television programs are in the evening, and their viewing is often accompanied by a late meal, which exacerbates metabolic disorders. Secondly, interacting with the computer user interface is essentially a simple cognitive training.

However, the difference in the amount of energy spent turns out to be quite small, and the data on the impact of cognitive training on the course of dementia are contradictory, so the reasons for such a large difference in morbidity have yet to be clarified in the future. In the meantime, it is possible to use the data obtained in the development of social policy and in counseling patients to reduce the prevalence of disabling diseases.

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