Leisure Activities as a Predictor of Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Old Age

Dementia is a growing medical and social problem with a devastating impact on the people affected and their respective families/care-takers. Therefore, having knowledge of the relationship between leisure activities with the dementia framework may be of extreme importance in early preventative diagnosis. In this project, by means of a transversal design, an empirical study was carried out to evaluate the principal effects of leisure in dementia development. The project included the participation of 61 elderly persons, 23 clinically diagnosed with dementia and 38 without a clinical diagnosis of dementia. This research takes into consideration one moment of the evaluation; the information having been gathered using evaluation instruments selected to this effect: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Mini Mental State Exam, Portuguese Version, and Clinical Dementia Rating, Portuguese Version. From the results, it is highlighted that 1) leisure activities seem to be a protection factor in the development of dementia; and 2) leisure emerges as a predictor variable. The interpretation of the results, as well as their possible implications with regard to prevention and treatment, are discussed in light of the relevant literature.