40% of Dementia Cases Could Be Prevented or Delayed by Targeting 12 Risk Factors Throughout Life

Summary: Study reports modifying twelve risk factors over your lifetime could reduce dementia risk by 40%.

Source: USC

Modifying 12 risk factors over a lifetime could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases, according to an updated report by the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC 2020).

Twenty-eight world-leading dementia experts added three new risk factors in the new report — excessive alcohol intake and head injury in mid-life and air pollution in later life. These are in addition to nine factors previously identified by the commission in 2017: less education early in life; mid-life hearing loss, hypertension and obesity; and smoking, depression, social isolation, physical inactivity and diabetes later in life (65 and up).

“We are learning that tactics to avoid dementia begin early and continue throughout life, so it’s never too early or too late to take action,” says commission member and AAIC presenter Lon Schneider, MD, co-director of the USC Alzheimer Disease Research Center’s clinical core and professor of psychiatry and the behavioral sciences and neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Dementia affects some 50 million people globally, a number that is expected to more than triple by 2050, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where approximately two-thirds of people with dementia live, according to the report. Women are also more likely to develop dementia than men.

However, in certain countries, such as the United States, England and France, the proportion of older people with dementia has fallen, probably in part due to lifestyle changes, demonstrating the possibility of reducing dementia through preventative measures, Schneider says.

Schneider and commission members recommend that policymakers and individuals adopt the following interventions:

  • Aim to maintain systolic blood pressure of 130 mm Hg or less from the age of 40.
  • Encourage use of hearing aids for hearing loss and reduce hearing loss by protecting ears from high noise levels.
  • Reduce exposure to air pollution and second-hand tobacco smoke.
  • Prevent head injury (particularly by targeting high-risk occupations).
  • Limit alcohol intake to no more than 21 units per week (one unit of alcohol equals 10 ml or 8 g pure alcohol).
  • Stop smoking and support others to stop smoking.
  • Provide all children with primary and secondary education.
  • Lead an active life into mid-life and possibly later life.
  • Reduce obesity and the linked condition of diabetes.

The report also advocates for holistic, individualized and evidenced-based care for patients with dementia, who typically have more hospitalizations for conditions that are potentially manageable at home and are at greater risk for COVID-19. In addition, it recommends providing interventions for family caregivers who are at risk for depression and anxiety.

The commission members conducted a thorough investigation of all the best evidence in the field, including systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses and individual studies, to reach their conclusions.

About this dementia research article

Source:
USC
Media Contacts:
Gabriella Robison – USC
Image Source:
The image is credited to Keck Medicine of USC.

Original Research: Open access
“Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission” by Lon Schneider et al. The Lancet.


Abstract

Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission

The number of older people, including those living with dementia, is rising, as younger age mortality declines. However, the age-specific incidence of dementia has fallen in many countries, probably because of improvements in education, nutrition, health care, and lifestyle changes. Overall, a growing body of evidence supports the nine potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia modelled by the 2017 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care: less education, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, and low social contact. We now add three more risk factors for dementia with newer, convincing evidence. These factors are excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury, and air pollution. We have completed new reviews and meta-analyses and incorporated these into an updated 12 risk factor life-course model of dementia prevention. Together the 12 modifiable risk factors account for around 40% of worldwide dementias, which consequently could theoretically be prevented or delayed. The potential for prevention is high and might be higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) where more dementias occur.

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  1. Apparently the Lancet article omitted the lack of a vital Brain nutrient, vitamin K2-4. It doubles for Co-Q10 in certain neurons. Humans have the genes to make this one but dementias etc set in when we can’t make enough. Vitamin K2-4:was the only supplement that restored my short term memory. Its effect was outstanding, stellar. K2-7 did NOT do it. We tried the experiment 3 times then contacted LEF dot org who knew about it since 2012. Later an NIH paper came out about how useful K2-4 is in the brain. I feel this one supplement could help a lot of diabetic patients who have been treated for cancer. But it must be done in cooperation with a doctor who would check the patient’s INR. Probably 100 micrograms a day would help. Since its half-life in the body is short, I take 60 micrograms 4 times a day with food. And I am on rivaroxiban so I don’t have to worry about blood clots.

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