Cut booze in middle age or risk dementia

MIDDLE-aged adults are being urged to cut back dramatically on drinking, lose weight and take exercise in order to prevent dementia.

New guidelines from the NHS watchdog state that the chances of developing the illness can be slashed by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Around 850,000 Britons have dementia, but this is expected to increase to 1million by 2025 as the population ages.

Although there is no cure, NICE, whose role is to provide health advice, states that changing your lifestyle can reduce the risk.

Specifically, the guidance instructs GPs to tell adults to cut back on drinking as much as possible and warn them there is ‘no safe level of alcohol consumption’.

Studies have shown that even adults who consume moderately of between seven to 14 units a week – up to six glasses of wine or seven pints of beer – are more susceptible to dementia.

The guidelines also urge family doctors to explain to middle-aged patients that exercise ‘is enjoyable’ and should be incorporated into their daily routines.

Even housework or gardening can all have long-term health benefits and may help prevent dementia, they state.

Last year research by Cambridge University estimated that a third of all cases of dementia were caused by poor lifestyle habits. Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, said: ‘There is now mounting evidence that a healthy lifestyle from midlife can help to reduce the risk of dementia in later life, but public understanding of the risk factors for dementia is still low.

‘We welcome this new guidance and hope the recommendations will inspire action across society to help more people reduce their dementia risk.’ Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, added: ‘These guidelines are a hugely welcome shift in public health thinking, highlighting the need for a change in mid-life behaviour and lifestyle choices to reduce the risk of dementia.

‘This advice needs to be extended to encourage those who go on to develop dementia to live well and prevent the condition deteriorating more quickly.’

Figures from NICE show we are living longer than ever before, and by 2025, almost a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65 and over.

But the watchdog warned that these years are not always spent in good health. Women have an estimated nine years of ill health, followed by nine years of disability, while for men the figures are eight years and seven years respectively.

Professor John Britton, guideline development group chair, said that the new advice from NICE could lead to increased overall good health for older people.

He said: ‘It is well known that smoking, too much alcohol, inactivity and being overweight is bad for our health, but many people don’t realise that these things can also increase the likelihood of developing dementia and other causes of poor quality of life in older age.

‘Even small but regular changes such as climbing the stairs instead of using an escalator – can have significant effects.’

‘No safe level of alcohol’