According to a study, almost half of dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed. The experts named 14 risk factors, reports The Guardian.
By 2050, the number of people living with dementia worldwide is projected to almost triple to 153 million. Researchers warn that this is a rapidly growing threat to health and social care systems. According to the research, the global health and social costs associated with dementia exceed 1 billion dollars (365 billion HUF) per year.
But in a seismic report published in the Lancet journal, 27 of the world’s leading dementia experts concluded that many more cases could be prevented or delayed than previously thought. According to the Lancet Committee on Dementia, treatment of 14 modifiable risk factors, which begin in childhood and continue throughout life,
it could prevent or delay 45 percent of dementia cases, even as people live longer.
The results were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in the United States. Professor Gill Livingston, lead author of the research, said it was becoming increasingly clear that millions of people could and should be doing much more to reduce their risk of dementia. “Many people around the world believe that dementia is inevitable, but it is not. Our report concluded that we can greatly increase the chances of not developing dementia or delaying its onset,” he said.
People at all stages of life, from children to the elderly, can take steps to reduce their risk of developing the disease, which cannot be cured, or at least stave it off until later in life
– added Livingston, from University College London.
Based on the most recent evidence available, the report lists two risk factors associated with 9 percent of dementia cases. About 7 percent of cases are linked to high low-density lipoprotein or “bad” cholesterol in midlife, starting around age 40, while 2 percent of cases are attributable to untreated vision loss later in life.
According to Livingston, these new risk factors are in addition to the 12 risk factors identified by the Lancet committee in 2020, which together account for about 36 percent of dementia cases. These include: lower education, hearing loss, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, depression, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, brain trauma, air pollution and social isolation.
In the report, the experts wrote: “The potential for prevention is high and, overall, nearly half of dementias could theoretically be prevented by eliminating these 14 risk factors. These results give us hope.”
These are worth paying attention to
According to Livingston, one of the easiest things people can do to prevent their risk of dementia is to incorporate some exercise into their day if they are mostly sedentary, whether it’s walking or even sitting exercises. The Lancet Committee made 13 recommendations to reduce the risk of dementia throughout life,
among others, making hearing aids available to the hearing impaired and reducing harmful noise exposure, as well as recognizing and treating high cholesterol from around age 40.
Other recommendations include making screening and treatment for visual impairment accessible to all, ensuring high-quality education for children, and cognitive activity in middle age.
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2024-08-05 19:23:33