Doing crossword puzzles, reading, and playing cards daily may delay the rapid memory decline that occurs if people develop dementia, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers from New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine spent five years following 488 people aged 75 to 85 who did not have dementia at the start of the study.

During the study period, 101 of these people developed dementia.

At the start of the study the participants reported how often they participated in six leisure mind activities - reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing board or card games, having group discussions, and playing music.

For each activity, daily participation was rated at seven points, several days a week was rated at four points, and weekly participation was rated at one point.

The average score for those who later developed dementia was seven points, meaning they took part in one of the six activities each day on average.

Ten people reported no activities, and 11 reported only one activity per week.

The researchers then looked at the point when memory loss started accelerating rapidly and found that for every additional activity a person participated in, the onset of rapid memory loss was delayed by 0.18 years.

"The point of accelerated decline was delayed by 1.29 years for the person who participated in 11 activities per week compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week," said researcher Charles Hall in a statement.

He said that the results remained valid after researchers factored in the education level of the participants.

"These activities might help maintain brain vitality. Further studies are needed to determine if increasing participation in these activities could prevent or delay dementia," said Hall.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, was supported by the National Institute on Aging.

美国一项研究结果表明： 每天做纵横填字游戏， 阅读和打牌有助于延缓智力衰退患者的记忆力下降速度。

纽约爱因斯坦医学院研究人员对488名75至85岁的健康老年人（初期未患智力衰退症）开展了为期5年的研究，

研究过程中发现，其中101位老人后来逐渐患上了智力衰退症。

研究初期，这些老年人都各自汇报了其参加六项大脑放松活动的活动频率，这六项活动分别是-阅读，书写，做纵横填字游戏，下棋或打牌，开小组会，以及玩音乐。

每项活动的参与给分标准如下：每天进行一次的打7分，一周进行几次的打4分，每周进行一次的打1分。

研究发现，后来患上智力衰退症的被研究对象平均得分为7分，也就是说，他们平均每天都进行一项活动（上述6项活动之一）.

据报告，研究对象中的10人未参加任何活动，而11人每周仅进行一次活动。

研究人员对记忆力衰退开始加剧时段的得分情况进行分析后发现：人们每多参加一项活动，其记忆力可延缓衰退0.18年。

研究员Charles Hall表示： "每周进行11项活动可比每周仅进行4项活动使脑力衰退延缓1.29年".

被研究对象的教育背景并未对研究结果造成影响。

Hall说： "这些活动有助于保持大脑活力。有关加强参与这些活动是否可防止或延缓智力衰退症，还有待于进一步研究".

该项研究由美国国家老年研究所协办，并被刊登于Neurology杂志。