Half of all dementia cases could be prevented if people adopted healthier, more environmentally friendly lifestyles, according to a study published this week.
A groundbreaking paper due to be published on Wednesday will reveal that it may be easier for individuals to protect themselves from the disease than many think.
The Lancet Dementia Commission will list 14 lifestyle and environmental factors that can be changed to reduce the risk of dementia.
It is estimated that around half of all dementia cases are due to these factors.
By eating less, being more active, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and exercising your brain, even those at high genetic risk can take their destiny into their own hands.
Another study presented at the same conference yesterday showed that a new blood test can predict Alzheimer’s disease with 90% accuracy, more accurate than current methods.
This breakthrough discovery could improve diagnostics and potentially lead to more patients having access to new drugs that are more effective when taken at an earlier stage of the disease.
Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “People still think of dementia as inevitable – you either get it or you don’t and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“But there are things you can do throughout your life to reduce your risk of dementia and live a longer, healthier life.”
The latest updates will be presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia.
The Lancet Commission’s previous version, published in 2020, listed 12 modifiable risk factors: blood pressure, obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes, brain injury, social isolation, hearing loss, depression, maintaining brain activity and air pollution.
According to The Sunday Times, the weight of scientific evidence in this area has grown in recent years and the new report is expected to go further, adding two new lifestyle and health risk factors and calling for the government to intervene earlier to help people reduce their risks.
Neuroscientists have discovered that using your brain for abstract, higher-level thinking throughout your life can prevent some aspects of dementia.
The theory that this “cognitive reserve” might help ward off dementia, especially in the early stages, is one that has given rise to a wave of “brain training” apps and programs.
Around one million people in the UK are thought to have dementia, with diagnoses reaching record levels, according to data published last week.
A report this week is expected to suggest that lifestyle and environmental changes could delay or completely prevent the onset of dementia in at least 40 percent of cases.
Sarah Kennedy, 54, from Orkney, left her job as a housing support officer to support her parents who have dementia.
She said: “I don’t want my children to go through what I went through with my parents.”
“They’ve been married for almost 60 years and had a very strong, loving marriage, but now they don’t even know each other that well.” She is at high risk of developing the disease due to genetic factors, but is determined to do all she can to reduce her risk.
She added: “The world has changed in the last 10 years in terms of the science of dementia, so there’s a huge opportunity here, but I think our health care system hasn’t kept up.”
“Right now we are trying to treat and support people in the final, often critical, stages of this disease.”
“We need to rethink this and I think prevention is key,” she said, calling for the NHS to do more to educate patients about the link between dementia and wider health factors.
“We need to rethink how we do that a little bit,” she said.
“Everyone thinks it’s fate, but the truth is, there are things you can do. Now it’s about what you can do for yourself and what you can do for your children.”