The dementia risk list
Drinking and diabetes hit ‘weak spot’ in the brain
DRINKING less alcohol, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and avoiding traffic pollution are the most important factors in cutting your chances of dementia, a study has found.
Researchers have previously identified a ‘weak spot’ in the brain that begins to degenerate as we get older.
Now, a study has confirmed what modifiable risk factors – things people can do something about – appear to have the biggest effect on this area.
Oxford University scientists ranked the risks by analysing the brain scans of 40,000 people in the UK aged over 45.
The three most important factors in order were diabetes, traffic-related pollution and alcohol consumption. Other categories included high blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, smoking, inflammation, hearing, sleep, socialisation and exercise.
Professor Gwenaelle Douaud, who led the study, said: ‘We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in ageing and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, trafficrelated air pollution – increasingly a major player in dementia – and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.’
The study analysed the unique contribution of each controllable risk factor by looking at all of them together to assess the resulting degeneration of the weak spot. Dr Susan Mitchell, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘ With no treatments yet available in the UK that can stop or slow the diseases that cause dementia, there has never been a more pressing need to promote good brain health and to gain a deeper understanding on how dementia can be prevented. It’s generally accepted that up to 40 per cent of dementia cases are potentially preventable, so there is an enormous opportunity to reduce the personal and societal impact of dementia. These intriguing findings, based on retrospective analysis of brain scans and other data from 40,000 people who took part in the UK Biobank project, help shed light on this further.
‘The results will need confirming, both in forward-looking studies that follow participants over time, and in a more diverse study population. But they could help explain why certain groups may be more vulnerable to dementia – such as those living in highly polluted areas.
‘We want all political parties to acknowledge the concept and importance of brain health and make commitments that will address these drivers of dementia risk across the UK.’
The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. A separate study, published in the BMJ, found delirium is linked to triple the risk of dementia.