Nine lifestyle factors that may reduce, or increase, an individual's risk of developing dementia. These are; more childhood education, exercise, being socially active, stopping smoking, managing hearing loss, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Each of these factors could help prevent or delay dementia.
Be ambitious about prevention; put these into practice. It's never too early to start education – and never too late to check your blood pressure and stop smoking. Get your blood pressure checked if you are 45 or over and keep it under control. Ask your family if they think your hearing is a problem and, if so, seek medical help. Be physically, mentally and socially active and watch your weight and blood sugar.
Dementia is the greatest global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century – and the greatest fear of most people. People are living longer, and dementia is mainly a disease of old age, which means that rates are going up. In some countries, such as the UK, US, Sweden and the Netherlands, dementia is already being delayed for years in those with more education, so the proportion of older people living with it has decreased, although more people have dementia, simply because there are more old people. In many other countries, the proportion of older people living with dementia has increased.
Giving people information about what to do to prevent dementia is an essential first step, but it is not enough. There is a responsibility, not just as professionals but as a society, to implement this evidence into interventions that are widely and effectively used for people with dementia and their families.
Of course, not everyone will be able to make changes, some changes will not make a difference and some dementia risk is genetic (about 7% of cases) and not currently modifiable. Nonetheless these interventions should delay dementia for some years for many people and this would be an enormous achievement and enable many more people to reach the end of their life without developing dementia.
Effective dementia prevention could transform the future for society. Acting now on what we already know can make this difference happen.
To find out more about our Dementia Care, click
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