Alzheimer's Disease

Frequently Asked Questions

24. Does having friends protect against Alzheimer's disease?

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Interacting with friends might help prevent or slow down mental decline. Data from the NIA-funded Chicago Health and Aging Project, an observational study, showed that people who socialized a lot had higher thinking skills than people who did not. They also had a slower decline in thinking skills as they got older. More research is needed to see if socializing does, in fact, play a direct role in preventing Alzheimer's disease.