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A major paper due to be published on Wednesday will show that specific, easy ways to prevent dementia and reduce the burden of the disease can be followed, scientists have revealed.
The Lancet Dementia Commission will list 14 lifestyle and environmental factors that can be changed to reduce the risk of dementia, which is said to be linked to around half of all cases of dementia.
People can change their fate, even if they are at high genetic risk, by eating less, being more active, cutting down on alcohol and quitting smoking, the scientists said.
Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “People still think dementia is inevitable. There’s this idea that 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 developing dementia.”
A separate study, recently presented, has shown that a new blood test can predict Alzheimer’s disease with 90% accuracy. This breakthrough could help improve diagnosis, allowing access to new, more effective drugs, especially when taken in the early stages of the disease.
The previous version of the Lancet Commission, published in 2020, listed 12 modifiable risk factors to ward off dementia: blood pressure, obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise, diabetes, brain injury, social isolation, hearing loss, depression, not keeping the brain active and air pollution.
The Sunday Times reported that scientific evidence in this area has grown in recent years, and the new report is expected to go further. It will also add two new lifestyle and health factors, and call on governments to intervene early to help people reduce their risk of developing dementia.
The report is expected to suggest that the onset of dementia can be delayed or avoided in at least 40% of cases, with lifestyle and environmental changes.
Source: Daily Mail
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