A-levels and healthy hearing cut risk of Alzheimer’s

ONE THIRD of dementia cases could be avoided if people made nine lifestyle changes throughout their lives, the biggest ever study into risk factors has shown.

A group of 24 experts on ageing, led by University College London, looked at hundreds of research papers and analyses of the causes of dementia to come up with a life-plan which can dramatically cut an individual’s chance of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s. They found that staying in education beyond the age of 15, keeping diabetes and high blood pressure in check, maintaining a healthy weight, stopping smoking and exercising regularly were crucial for future brain health.

For the first time hearing loss was identified as one of the worst risk factors, possibly because it places a significant compensatory burden on the brain and raises the risk of social isolation and depression, both of which raise the chance of people developing dementia.

Around 800,000 people are currently living with dementia, with the number of cases expected to rise to 1.2million by 2040 as the population ages. The new research suggests that around 250,000 cases each year could be prevented if people made lifestyle changes. “Acting now will vastly improve life for people with dementia and their families, and in doing so, will transform the future of society,” said lead author Prof Gill Livingston, of University College London, UK. “Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before, with risk factors for developing the disease occurring throughout life, not just in old age.

“We believe that a broader approach to prevention of dementia which reflects these changing risk factors will … help to prevent the rising number of dementia cases globally.”

Eight per cent of all cases could be prevented if everyone stayed in school for A-levels. It is thought that a better education allows the brain to continue functioning effectively even with the inevitable damage caused by ageing.

Reducing hearing loss in mid-life would reduce the number of cases by nine per cent while stopping smoking would cut five per cent of cases.

The new research was published in The Lancet and presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2017.