Research Highlights 12 Dementia Risk Factors — and How to Prevent Them
The study, published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease and led by S. Son, M. Speechley, G.Y. Zou, M. Kivipelto, F. Mangialasche, H.H. Feldman, H. Chertkow, S. Belleville, H. Nygaard, V. Hachinski, F. Pieruccini-Faria, and M. Montero-Odasso, examined dementia risk factor distributions from midlife to later life in more than 30,000 participants.
The researchers identified a total of 12 risk factors:
- Physical inactivity
- Less education early in life
- Hearing loss
- Traumatic brain injury
- Hypertension
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Smoking
- Depression
- Social isolation
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sleep disturbances
As the global population continues to age rapidly, the number of people living with dementia is projected to triple worldwide, rising from 57 million to 152 million by 2050. In Canada, the prevalence of dementia is expected to grow by 187%, reaching an estimated 1,712,400 cases by 2050.
To encourage the lifestyle changes that Son’s research shows may help lower dementia risk, she has created "12 ways to prevent dementia" calendar. We are grateful to Surim for kindly sharing this calendar with us, which we have now published here.
Please take a minute to read more about exercise, weight loss and 10 other ways to avoid dementia, according to London scientists and explore lifestyle choices that could reduce your risk of dementia in the interview with Surim Son.
Original article:
Son S, Speechley M, Zou GY, Kivipelto M, Mangialasche F, Feldman HH, Chertkow H, Belleville S, Nygaard H, Hachinski V, Pieruccini-Faria F & Montero-Odasso M. Potentially Modifiable Dementia Risk Factors in Canada: An Analysis of Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging with a Multi-Country Comparison. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease. Volume 11, pages 1490–1499, (2024)
