Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications may decrease the risk of developing dementia, claimed a study on Wednesday.
Previous research has suggested that inflammation may contribute to the development and progression of dementia. The NSAID medications, with their anti-inflammatory effects, can help protect against dementia — which affects more than 55 million people worldwide.
“Our study provides evidence on possible preventive effects of anti-inflammatory medication against the dementia process,” said M. Arfan Ikram, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
The researchers focussed their study on 11,745 adults with an average follow-up of 14.5 years. Of these 9,520 participants had used NSAIDs at any given time, and 2,091 participants developed dementia.