Dementia: 'Lifestyle Changes Could Delay Or Prevent 40% Of Cases, Study'; Address 12 Key Factors
'Lifestyle changes could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases – study. Addressing 12 factors such as excessive drinking & air pollution exposure may have significant effect, experts say.' The Guardian, July 30, 2020. - Excerpts, Ed.:
Excessive drinking, exposure to air pollution and head injuries all increase dementia risk, experts say in a report revealing that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 12 such lifestyle factors. Around 50 million people around the world live with dementia, including about 850,000 people in the UK.
By 2040, it has been estimated there will be more than 1.2 million people living with dementia in England and Wales. There is currently no cure.
However, while some risk factors for dementia cannot be changed, for example particular genes or ethnicity, many are down to lifestyle. “Dementia is potentially preventable – you can do things to reduce your risk of dementia, whatever stage of life you are at,” said Gill Livingston, professor of psychiatry of older people at University College London and a co-author of the report. She added such lifestyle changes could reduce the chances of developing dementia in both those with and without a high genetic risk for such conditions.
The report from the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care builds on previous work revealing that about a third of dementia cases could be prevented by addressing nine lifestyle factors, including midlife hearing loss, depression, less childhood education and smoking. While some actions can be taken on a personal level to tackle such issues, many require government-led change, Livingston said. The report includes a list of nine recommendations, including improving air quality, and urges policymakers to “be ambitious about prevention”.
Livingston praised Boris Johnson’s campaign to tackle the nation’s waistlines and reduce Covid-19 deaths, as obesity and lack of exercise are among the risk factors for dementia: “That may be helpful, particularly if they are beginning to think about obesogenic environments & making it safe for people to ride bikes.” While Livingston said the 40% figure was optimistic as the 12 risk factors are unlikely to be completely addressed, small steps could make a difference. Research has suggested that the incidence of dementia in Europe & North America has fallen by around 15% per decade for the past 30 years – likely because of lifestyle changes such as a reduction in smoking – even though the numbers of people with dementia are rising as people live longer...
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/30/lifestyle-changes-could-delay-or-prevent-40-of-dementia-cases-study
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- Also: 'Lifestyle Changes Could Prevent Over A Third Of Dementia Cases, Report Suggests.' July 20, 2017,
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/20/lifestyle-changes-could-prevent-over-a-third-of-dementia-cases-report-suggests
..In total, the study looked at nine lifestyle factors linked to an increased risk of dementia.
The results reveal that as many as 35% of dementia cases could, at least in theory, be prevented, with 9% linked to midlife hearing loss, 8% to leaving education before secondary school, 5% to smoking in later life and 4% to later life depression.
Social isolation, later life diabetes, midlife high blood pressure, midlife obesity and lack of exercise in later life also contributed to potentially avoidable cases of dementia, the report notes...
