Excessive alcohol intake, head injuries and air pollution exposure increase dementia risk, according to a study revealing that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 12 key lifestyle factors.
Published in The Lancet medical journal, the study found three new factors are associated with 6% of dementia cases worldwide.
An estimated 3% of cases were connected to head injuries in mid-life, 1% to high mid-life alcohol consumption and 2% to air pollution in older age.
Led by 28 dementia experts, the report builds on the nine risk factors from childhood to later life already identified in 2017 by The Lancet Commission.
These include hearing loss, smoking, hypertension and depression and are linked to 34% of all dementia cases.
About 50 million people around the world have dementia – including about 500,000 in Australia –according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
While some risk factors for dementia can’t be changed, such as genes or race, many are attributed to lifestyle.
“Dementia is potentially preventable – you can do things to reduce your risk of dementia, whatever stage of life you are at,” said Gill Livingston, professor of psychiatry of older people at University College London and a co-author of the report.
You can also reduce your risk even if you have a high genetic risk for the condition, she added.
Good to know.
