These nine lifestyle changes could PREVENT dementia – ‘stopping a third of Alzheimer’s cases’
A THIRD of cases of dementia could be prevented by making simple lifestyle changes, experts have revealed.
Better education in early life and addressing hearing loss, high blood pressure and obesity in mid-life, could cut rates by a fifth, new findings suggest.
Stopping smoking, treating depression, exercising, socialising and managing diabetes in old age could reduce the incidence by a further 15 per cent.
Tackling all nine factors would together see 35 per cent fewer cases of the debilitating brain disease.
Study leader Professor Gill Livingston, of University College London, said: “Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before.
“Risk factors for developing the disease occur throughout life, not just in old age.”
Dr Clive Ballard, who worked on the study at the University of Exeter, said: "People think dementia is inevitable and they just have to hope they don't get it.
"But there are things we can all do to take a little bit more control over our risk."
Around one million people are thought to be living with dementia in the UK, new figures revealed this week - the first time the number of sufferers has broken the million threshold.
The majority have Alzheimer's - the most common form of the disease.
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Meanwhile, experts warn dementia is set to be the "21st century's biggest killer" - with an estimated 60 per cent of the population likely to be affected by 2040.
Dr Doug Brown, from the charity Alzheimer's Society, said: "The revelation that over a third of dementia cases worldwide are, in theory, entirely preventable is cause for celebration.
"Not all of the nine risk factors identified are easily modifiable, factors like poor education and social isolation are incredibly challenging to address.
"But there are easier wins, particularly cardiovascular factors like lowering blood pressure and smoking cessation."
Dr David Reynolds, from Alzheimer's Research UK, said research into how to prevent dementia is vital, but treatment is also important.
";Even if every risk factor identified here could be eliminated, we do not yet have a surefire way to prevent dementia.
"Alongside prevention research, we must continue to invest in research to find a life-changing treatment for people with this devastating condition."
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The researchers also looked at how effective non-medical treatments for people with dementia are.
They found psychological and social interventions were better than drugs for treating dementia-related agitation and aggression.
Some forms of non-medical therapy such as group cognitive stimulation and exercise led to improvements in mental ability.
Scientists say it is possible that even more cases could be prevented because they do not yet fully understand how other risks like sleep, diet and alcohol affect the brain.
The findings will be presented today at the Alzheimer's Associations International Conference in London and published in The Lancet.