2024-01-13 20:32:51
Although dementia is much more common among older adults, hundreds of thousands of people are diagnosed with dementia each year.
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Most previous research in this area has focused on genes passed down from generation to generation, but the team of a new study which appeared on December 26 in the revue JAMA Neurology was able to identify 15 different lifestyle and health factors that are associated with the risk of early-onset dementia.
“This is the largest and most robust study ever carried out in this area,” assures epidemiologist David Llewellyn, of the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom.
“Interestingly, for the first time, it reveals that we might take steps to reduce the risk of this debilitating disease by targeting a range of different factors,” he adds.
The research team analyzed data collected from 356,052 people aged under 65 in the UK.
Here are some notable factors that are associated with a higher risk of VWD.
-Low socio-economic status
-Social isolation
-Hearing problems
-Strokes
-Diabetes
-Heart diseases
-The Depression
-Vitamin D deficiency
-High levels of C-reactive protein (produced by the liver in response to inflammation)
Although the results do not prove that dementia is caused by these factors, they provide a more detailed picture of the situation. As always in this type of research, learning more regarding the causes can help develop better treatments and preventative measures.
Many of these factors are modifiable, giving more hope to those working to prevent or overcome dementia.
Ultimately, it is possible to reduce the risk of dementia by leading a healthier lifestyle.
“The cause is often assumed to be genetic, but for many people we don’t know exactly what it is. This is why we also wanted to investigate other risk factors in this study,” explained Stevie Hendriks, neuroscientist at Maastricht University.
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