Study discovers link between internet use and dementia

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. They received varied responses with 65 per cent of responders saying that they were regular internet users, and 21 per cent reported significant changes in their internet usage habits throughout their participation in the study. The study found that “regular internet usage was associated with approximately half the risk of dementia compared to non-regular usage”. Among the participants who were active users, the new study’s authors identified a 1.54 per cent risk of developing dementia, whereas non-users appeared to have a significantly higher risk of 10.45 per cent. One of the researchers, Gawon Cho, told Medscape Medical News: “Among older adults, regular internet users may experience a lower risk of dementia compared to non‐regular users, and longer periods of regular internet usage in late adulthood may help reduce the risks of subsequent dementia incidence.” “Nonetheless, using the internet excessively daily may negatively affect the risk of dementia in older adults.” The study mentions that “the lowest risk was observed among adults with 0.1–2 hours of usage, though estimates were non-significant due to small sample sizes”.