One of the most worrying aspects of growing older is the progressive decline in memory and mental abilities, which interferes with our daily lives and independence.
Using validated cognitive testing tools, the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, one of the largest studies of its kind in the world, found that 7.4 per cent of those above 60 had dementia, almost the same as in the US and the UK (Lee et al., 2023). There were significant regional variations of the disease, with higher prevalence among the rural, illiterate and women. The probability of dementia rose sharply with age, peaking in the 70s and 80s. More than 50 per cent of the affected were unable to care for themselves. The numbers are alarming and rising.
Risk factors
In the most comprehensive evidence-based report on dementia, a commission by The Lancet (2024) identified 14 modifiable factors responsible for 45 per cent of all dementia cases. These include, among others, low education in early life, impaired hearing, high levels of bad cholesterol, head trauma, physical inactivity, diabetes, high blood pressure in middle age, smoking, social isolation, and air pollution. While all can be improved, avoiding prolonged sitting and doing small activities that keep you active all day can significantly lower the risk of dementia in old age.
Endangering habits
Everyday routines provide early clues to cognitive decline in later life. A recent large prospective study (JAMA Neurology, 2026) found that adults over 60 who didn’t have dementia initially, but who became physically less active during the day, slept poorly (either too little or too much), had irregular sleep-wake patterns were more likely to develop dementia in later years, even after accounting for factors such as age, education, high BP, and diabetes. The findings suggest that staying physically active, reducing prolonged sitting, getting good sleep, and maintaining a regular daily routine may support better brain health as we age.
Harvard Health, publishing and consumer education division of Harvard Medical School, recommends that one way to stay mentally alert is to keep learning new skills throughout life. Stop believing that you cannot control your memory.
Preventive steps
There is no specific mental exercise to reverse mental decline once it has begun. Yet, learning new skills, playing musical instruments, reading, playing cards or games such as chess, solving puzzles and crosswords, and other intellectual exercises may help maintain mental sharpness (The Lancet, 2020). Staying socially engaged and active after retirement is well known to help prevent mental faculties from declining.
Unlike visual impairment, hearing loss among those aged 45-65 who are not wearing hearing aids is a highly significant, but a modifiable risk factor for decline in mental abilities. Hearing loss impairs social interaction and can even cause shrinkage of brain regions critical for memory.
Chronic mental stress may also increase the risk of dementia by gradually affecting memory-related brain networks. Stress-management techniques, including behavioural therapy, may help reduce this risk (Boris Mravec, 2018). Experts say that stress reduction should begin in midlife, ideally between 40 and 60 years of age, as many of the biological changes that lead to dementia begin decades before symptoms appear.
Interestingly, a recent observation by Yukako Tani (2026) and other scientists in Japan made worldwide news, reporting that cooking even a single meal once a week, reduced the risk of dementia by 30 per cent in older people, particularly among those with poor cooking skills. They suggested that families should support the elderly in cooking at home, even if meals are imperfect, to help prevent dementia. Cooking involves intricate mental and physical effort, including planning the menu, shopping, cutting and cooking with a variety of condiments and managing the cooking time of different vegetables, and checking their readiness.
— The writer is Emeritus Professor, PGI, Chandigarh
Factcheck: Around 8.8 million Indians aged 60 and older are currently living with dementia. Driven by a rapidly ageing population and a high prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, this number could be nearly double to 17 million by 2036. Dementia burden varies across the country. Lower rates are observed Delhi (4.5%), while higher prevalence is recorded in Jammu and Kashmir (11%). Dementia prevalence is generally estimated to be higher among females than males in India. Studies have found a slightly higher prevalence of cognitive decline in rural areas compared to urban cities and towns.
