title: Does participation in leisure activities lead to reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease? A prospective study of Swedish twins.
abstract: This study examined whether participation in leisure activities during early and middle adulthood was associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. The sample consisted of 107 same-sex twin pairs discordant for dementia and for whom information on leisure activities was self-reported more than 20 years prior to clinical evaluation. A factor analysis of these activities yielded three activity factors: intellectual-cultural, self-improvement, and domestic activity. Matched-pair analyses compared activities within the discordant twin pairs while controlling for level of education. For the total sample, participation in a greater overall number of leisure activities was associated with lower risk of both Alzheimer's disease and dementia in general. Greater participation in intellectual-cultural activities was associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease for women, although not for men.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014427:Twins