5 daily habits improve cognitive health in older people, supported by science

The LatAm-FINGERS study, developed over two years in 11 Latin American countries and published in ‘The Lancet’, demonstrated that acting “in a combined and sustained manner on five modifiable lifestyle factors can improve global cognition in older adults at risk of dementia,” according to a statement.

The research, which represents the first multicenter randomized clinical trial carried out in the Latin American region on the prevention of cognitive decline, will be presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2026 -AAIC 2026-, which is being held until Wednesday in London.

For two years, LatAm-FINGERS evaluated this multidomain intervention based on the five pillars mentioned above. Unlike a general wellness recommendation, It was a scientific protocol “structured, sustained over time and culturally adapted to the Latin American reality.”

The study included 1,065 participants between 60 and 77 years old in centers in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. 82.3% of participants completed the two-year follow-up.

According to the statement, the results show that, in older adults at risk of dementia, the group that received the structured multidomain intervention “obtained cognitive improvements that were 55% greater than those of the group that received a flexible intervention based on regular health advice.”

These improvements were observed “both in global cognition and in specific domains of cognitive performance, including episodic memory, attention and executive functions,” the note indicated.

The principal investigator of LatAm-FINGERS and head of Neuropsychology at the Argentine institute FLENI, Lucía Crivelli, said that “LatAm-FINGERS demonstrates that the prevention of cognitive decline in Latin America is not only possible, but can also be built on evidence generated in our own region.”

“Today we know that prevention cannot be thought of as an isolated recommendation, but as a comprehensive intervention, structured and sustained over time. What is relevant is the combination of physical activity, healthy eating, cardiovascular control, cognitive training and socialization, implemented in a way adapted to our communities,” he declared.

The differential value of LatAm-FINGERS is that it provides randomized, multicenter and large-scale evidence generated in Latin America, a region historically underrepresented in research, and evidence that an effective intervention can be implemented in countries with diverse social, educational, health and economic realities.

The researchers emphasize that “the finding does not imply that dementia can be prevented absolutely nor that there is an individual guarantee of protection, but provides robust evidence that acting in a combined and sustained manner on modifiable factors can contribute to prevention and risk reduction strategies.”.

LatAm-FINGERS is part of an international line of studies on multidomain interventions to reduce cognitive deterioration, which began in Finland, where the first large trial was carried out that demonstrated benefits on global cognition in older adults with a higher risk of dementia.

According to the statement, the Latin American study will continue its work with a four-year follow-up in order to evaluate the long-term impact of the intervention.