A new report just published from Australia claims that aging men (69-87) that use computers are less likely to get dementia (up to a 40% lower incidence rate).  The conclusion of the report: “Older men who use computers have lower risk of receiving a diagnosis of dementia up to 8.5 years later.“

The report is summarized in The Register and is available free from PLos ONE (pdf download).

The study broke out the numbers by type of computer use (Email, Games, Internet, Word processing & Other), with Internet use having one of the lowest dementia incident ratios.  Their results also indicate that using the computer more often reduces the incidence of dementia.

Cumulative hazard of dementia among older men according to their use of computers.

Altho’ I’m not in the study’s age group, from the results shown above (Fig 1) I’m hoping that the earlier you start & the more you use computers, the better the results.

If you don’t feel you’re using the computer enuf, then take a stab at a free game called Entanglement.  It’s not only addicting, but it requires some serious thought.  To see how to play, click on “Menu” on the right side of the page followed by “How to Play.”

Enjoy!