Associations of computer gaming with incident dementia and cognitive functions (2024)
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- High frequency of playing computer games is associated with a 19% decreased risk of incident dementia.
- Computer gaming is linked to better cognitive functions, including prospective memory, reaction time, fluid intelligence, numeric memory, and pairs matching.
- Frequent gamers show favorable brain structural measures, such as higher gray matter volume in the hippocampus.
- Mendelian randomization analysis suggests a potential causal association between computer gaming and reduced dementia risk.
- The study used UK Biobank data from 471,346 White British participants, with a prospective cohort design and MR analysis.
- Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings.
- Limitations include lack of data on frequency changes over time and potential residual confounding in observational analyses.
- Computer gaming may modulate cognitive function and could be a promising target for dementia prevention.