Thousands of dementia cases ‘could be avoided’

HUNDREDS of thousands of UK dementia cases could be stopped if people took more steps to prevent it, data suggests.

Regular hearing check-ups, seven hours of sleep a night and more exercise are among 12 lifestyle factors that could slash a person’s chances of dementia by up to 40 per cent.

But only a third of Britons know that there are things they can do to help keep dementia at bay, according to new data from Alzheimer’s Research UK.

And just one in 50 people is doing everything they can to ward off the disease, a survey found.

Experts suggested simple steps – such as hearing tests in our 30s and 40s – could help drive down dementia rates. They have called for brain health to become a greater part of the NHS Health Check.

The charity is launching an online survey for people to see their modifiable risk factors, and what they can do now to boost their chances of avoiding it in future.

Around 900,000 people in the UK have dementia – an umbrella term for some brain diseases that affect memory, thinking and cognition.

In 2020 the Lancet Commission concluded up to 40 per cent of cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 modifiable risk factors, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, physical inactivity, excess alcohol intake and smoking.

With cases set to soar by 75 per cent to 1.6million by 2050, a poll of more than 2,000 found just 2 per cent of the public are taking the necessary steps to cut risks.

Hearing loss has been linked to five modifiable risk factors – including social isolation, depression, physical inactivity/ obesity and brain injuries from falls.

Other studies found hearing aid users had a 50 per cent lower risk of mild cognitive impairment than those who did not use them. Another showed they could reduce progression from mild impairment to dementia by 27 per cent.

Yet stigmas associated with hearing aids and difficulties accessing them mean most people who need them still do not use them.

The latest survey found while 35 per cent of people said they have had concerns about their hearing, six in ten (59 per cent) reported they had done nothing about it.

Dr Sarah Bauermeister, senior scientist at Dementia Platforms UK, said hearing checks should be normalised and ‘more accessible’.

‘Regular hearing checks at all population levels is very important and this is across the lifespan,’ she said. ‘It will normalise the wearing of a hearing aid, and the stigma will be reduced about wearing one.’

Fewer than a third (31 per cent) of the public said they get seven hours of quality sleep a night – the recommended amount for good brain health.

And over a third of people report that they are failing to challenge their brain regularly, with 4 per cent seldom doing it.

Scientists hope that by raising awareness of risk factors, people can take steps to reduce their risk.

Professor Jonathan Schott, chief medical officer for Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘People are wanting to know what they do about their risk of dementia.

‘It’s empowering to individuals to know that there are things that they can do and this is why this the tool has been developed.’

‘Hearing tests could drive down risk’