Dementia prevention: Those who train intensively benefit more

Lifestyle changes can counteract cognitive decline, as the international World Wide Finger network demonstrated in 2015. This was recently confirmed by the US partner POINTER in a study of more than 2,100 older adults. The results were published in the journal JAMA .

The study included people aged 60 to 79 who were at risk for cognitive decline and had a relatively unhealthy lifestyle. They were randomly assigned to a structured intensive or a less intensive program. Both interventions focused on increased physical and mental activity, a healthy diet, social engagement, and cardiovascular monitoring. Nine out of ten participants completed the study.

The intensive training group performed significantly better in terms of cognition after two years than those who trained less independently. The effect was independent of whether the individuals were ApoE4 gene carriers or not, but appeared to be greater in those with a lower baseline level.

The Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) was the first study worldwide to show that comprehensive lifestyle interventions can improve brain health and prevent cognitive decline.

Since then, the World Wide Finger network has been developing preventive measures in the form of culturally adapted, multimodal, personalized intervention programs for people at increased risk of dementia. The modules include a healthy diet, social and physical activities, cardiovascular health monitoring, and cognitive training.

The network's founder, Professor Dr. Miia Kivipelto, presented the long-term effects of this first prevention study at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Toronto in July 2025. Although cognitive decline was observed over the years, those who regularly followed the intervention plan at the time were still cognitively more effective than the control group eleven years later, reported the professor of clinical geriatrics.