Researchers believe programs targeting several risk factors at once may offer greater benefits because Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are influenced by multiple aspects of health and lifestyle.

How did they adapt a U.S. program for Latin America?

The trial builds on results from the U.S. POINTER study (the Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk). Rather than exporting it unchanged, multinational working groups with representatives from every participating country decided which program elements had to stay consistent and which could flex to local culture, climate, food availability, technology access and participant preferences.

Exercise options included familiar activities such as salsa and tango, along with outdoor group workouts in public parks. Study materials were translated and adjusted for local communities, and staff provided extra help to participants with limited experience using digital technology, since part of the cognitive training was computerized.

"We did not simply translate the U.S. POINTER model into Spanish and Portuguese. We adapted it to local cultures and habits while preserving its core elements — making the program practical, affordable and feasible as a public health strategy," said Lucia Crivelli, Ph.D., lead author of the study and principal investigator at Fleni, a neurological institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"The results demonstrate for the first time in Latin America that culturally adapted lifestyle interventions can be successfully implemented across diverse countries and communities, and deliver cognitive benefits for populations that are often underrepresented in clinical research," Crivelli said.

What does this mean for other populations?

The study population was notable for its diversity. "LatAm-FINGERS included significant racial and ethnic diversity, and a wide range in education and socioeconomic status. The results demonstrate that brain health can be improved across diverse communities representing different cultures and with varying access to resources," said Laura D. Baker, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and geriatrics, internal medicine, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Advocate Health, and U.S. POINTER principal investigator.

"We now have a second strong finding in a completely different part of the world, which suggests that the U.S. POINTER formula can be adapted for anybody," Baker said, adding that she is confident the structured intervention could help engage Latino and Hispanic communities in the U.S. and beyond, and would be equally effective there.

LatAm-FINGERS and U.S. POINTER belong to the World-Wide FINGERS network, an international effort that grew out of the original Finnish FINGER trial. That earlier study found that interventions targeting several lifestyle factors simultaneously may help preserve cognitive function in older adults at risk of decline.

What are the caveats?

The findings apply to older adults already at elevated risk of cognitive decline, not to the general population, and the trial measured improvement on cognitive tests over two years rather than diagnosis of dementia itself. Whether these gains translate into long-term prevention of Alzheimer's disease remains an open question.

Still, with dementia becoming more common worldwide, the results point to the potential value of practical, affordable and adaptable lifestyle programs — including in low- and middle-income countries.

"A key message from this study is that structure and social support matter," said Heather M. Snyder, Ph.D., Alzheimer's Association senior vice president of medical and scientific relations. "Addressing multiple lifestyle factors can positively impact brain health and may eventually be combined with emerging drug therapies to reduce cognitive decline and dementia risk."