Lifestyle support improved thinking scores in a Latin American trial
In Latin American adults with high dementia risk and below-optimal thinking-test scores, annual gains were 0.31 standard deviations with structured support versus 0.20 with health advice.
Our read
Interventions- Studied:
- Randomized trial in 1,065 older adults at high dementia risk, against adults receiving health advice (Blinded, multicenter, registered NCT06492967)
- What changed:
- Thinking scores improved more with structured lifestyle support than health advice, by 0·11 SD per year
- The catch:
- More participants dropped out with health advice than structured support, potentially biasing the comparison
- In the record:
- The 103rd paper on multidomain lifestyle intervention with results in people; 211 on record in all.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Adults aged 60–77 with high dementia risk and below-optimal cognitive performance entered a randomized trial across 11 Latin American countries. The analysis included 1,065 participants; 75% were women. They received structured lifestyle support or health advice for two years. Scores measuring overall mental ability improved in both groups. Annual gains were 0.31 versus 0.20 standard deviations, units describing variation in scores.
Adverse events totaled 412 with support versus 66 with advice. These included muscle, bone or joint symptoms (113, 21%, versus 13, 2%) and upper respiratory infections (50, 9%, versus one, under 1%). The support group reported 31 COVID-19 events (6%). Serious adverse events affected 50 participants (9%) versus 24 (5%). Deaths totaled three versus five. No serious adverse events or deaths were linked to the intervention.
Why it matters
Latin America faces a high dementia burden, but its populations remain underrepresented in prevention research. This trial broadens the evidence for culturally adapted lifestyle programs in the region.
Caveats
Participants and staff knew the assignments, although outcome assessors did not; dropout was 15.2% with structured support versus 20.2% with advice. The results do not establish long-term dementia prevention or benefits in younger or low-risk people.
The paper
Department of Cognitive Neurology
Lancet, Jul 13, 2026
Comments
Be the first to comment.