The 11 risk factors that can ‘strongly predict’ if you will be diagnosed with dementia in the next 14 years
SCIENTISTS can now "strongly predict" whether a person will develop dementia in the next 14 years.
A team of Oxford academics have pinpointed a number risk factors for the devastating condition and developed a tool that anticipates if someone is likely to suffer from the debilitating disease.
The 11 risk factors included lifestyle and history of illnesses and were found to accurately assess whether or not people in mid-life would go on to develop dementia.
Some 944,000 Brits are estimated to be living with the condition characterised by memory loss and a decline in brain function, according to .
Oxford University researchers trawled through data from people aged 50 to 73 taking part in two major long-term British studies - the UK Biobank study and the Whitehall II study.
They pulled data on 220,762 people with an average age of 60 from the UK Biobank study to develop the risk assessment tool and used the data of an additional 2,934 people with an average age of 57 from the Whitehall II study to help validate it.
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The scientists compiled a list of 28 known factors linked to dementia risk and then whittled it down to the strongest predictors.
This produced a list of 11 predictive factors, which were then used to develop the UK Biobank Dementia Risk Score (UKBDRS) tool.
The 11 factors are:
- age - being over 60 increases risk
- education
- a history of diabetes
- a history of depression
- a history of stroke
- parental history of dementia
- levels of deprivation
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- living alone
- gender
Researchers also examined these risk factors alongside whether or not people carried a specific gene - the APOE gene, which is a known risk factor for dementia.
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They named the resulting risk tool the UKBDRS-APOE tool.
Of the people taking part in the studies they examined, 2 per cent of those involved with the UK Biobank study developed dementia, compared with 3 per cent of those in the Whitehall II study.
They found that UKBDRS-APOE produced the highest predictive score, closely followed by the UKBDRS risk tool, according to the findings, which have been published in the journal BMJ Mental Health.
The authors said that the assessment "significantly outperforms" similar other risk assessment tools currently available.
As well as identifying those at risk, these tools can also highlight preventative measures people can take while it is still possible.
The academics pointed out previous work, which suggests that up to 40 per cent of dementia cases could be prevented by quitting smoking, reducing high blood pressure, losing weight and reducing alcohol intake.
They suggested that the new tool could, in the future, be used as an initial screening tool for dementia to put people in "risk groups".
Those who come back with a high probability of developing dementia could be prioritised for further tests including cognitive assessments, brain scans and blood tests.
"The UKBDRS may best be used as an initial screening tool to stratify people into risk groups, and those identified as high risk could then benefit from the more time-intensive follow-up assessments described above for more detailed characterisation," said lead author Dr Raihaan Patel from the University of Oxford.
"There are many steps we would need to take before we can use this risk score in clinical practice.
"It's well known that dementia risk, onset, and prevalence vary by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
"Therefore, while the consistent performance of UKBDRS across these two independent groups boosts our confidence in its viability, we need to evaluate it across more diverse groups of people both within and beyond the UK."
Dr Sana Suri, associate professor and co-lead author from the University of Oxford, noted it wasn't a done deal if someone received a high risk score for dementia using the tool.
"It's important to remember that this risk score only tells us about our chances of developing dementia; it doesn't represent a definitive outcome," he explained.
"The importance of each risk factor varies and given that some of the factors included in the score can be modified or treated, there are things we can all do to help reduce our risk of dementia.
"While older age (60 and above) and APOE confer the greatest risk, modifiable factors, such as diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure also have a key role.
"For example, the estimated risk for a person with all of these will be approximately three times higher than that of a person of the same age who doesn't have any."
It comes as a separate study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found that over 60s living "unhealthy lifestyles" were more likely to need nursing home care in later life.
Being physically inactive, being a smoker and having poor sleep were between the ages of 60 and 64 seemed to be particularly influential, academics found.
Researchers from the University of Sydney examined data on more than 127,000 Australian men and women aged 60 and over.
Information on lifestyle factors, including smoking status, physical activity levels, sitting time, sleep patterns and diet, were assessed.
After 10 years of follow up, researchers found that 18 per cent of people in the study had been admitted to a nursing home.
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Compared with those who lived the healthiest lifestyles, unhealthy over 60s were 43 per cent more likely to be admitted to a nursing home.
"Modifying lifestyle, especially reducing sitting time, increasing physical activity and improving sleep, should be explored as new public health measures to reduce the future risk of nursing home admission," the authors wrote.
Early symptoms of dementia
The word 'dementia' describes a set of symptoms that over time can affect memory, problem-solving, language and behaviour.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.
Everyone will experience symptoms differently, especially during the early stages, according to Alzheimer's Society.
But some common early signs include:
- memory loss - this could mean problems recalling recent events
- difficulty concentrating or planning - sufferers might struggle to make decisions, solve problems or follow the series of steps required to cook a meal
- difficulties following a conversation or finding the right word for something
- problems judging distances, perceiving the edges of objects, and misinterpreting patterns or reflections
- losing track of the time or date, or becoming confused about where they are
- mood changes or difficulty controlling emotions - becoming unusually anxious, irritable, sad or frightened, or losing interest in things that interested them before
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