Dementia: the 11 major risk factors have been identified. Discover them quickly to avoid them!

Dementia is a condition that results from several diseases and/or lesions that affect the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is thought to be the cause of 60 to 70% of cases. Symptoms vary from person to person. It can manifest as memory problems and changes in mood and behavior. Age is the greatest known risk factor for dementia, but other factors are suspected of increasing the risk, such as smoking, physical inactivity or diabetes.

The 11 risk factors for dementia

Researchers have been interested in the role that many factors could play in the onset of dementia. Their research identified 11 major risk factors for developing dementia within 14 years. In other words, those that were most likely to trigger dementia, namely:

• Age;
• The level of education;
• Depression (current or past);
• Cerebrovascular accident (CVA);
• Parental history of dementia;
• Material deprivation;
• Diabetes ;
• High blood pressure ;
• Hypercholesterolemia;
• Living alone;
• The male sex.

“UK Biobank Dementia Risk Score”: an early screening tool?

To arrive at this list, the scientists based themselves on two British studies having been carried out between them on more than 223,000 people aged on average in their sixties. The cohorts were followed for 14 years, which allowed the researchers to observe that certain factors (among the 28 studied) were more likely to cause dementia than others.

All of these factors have been combined into an indicator called the UK Biobank Dementia Risk Score (UKBDRS). For the authors of the study, the UKBDRS could in the future become an early screening tool that would help measure the risk of a person over 50 of developing dementia within 14 years. This study is only a first step, the indicator must be validated by other scientific research before being officially used as a screening tool by doctors.

We can all take action to reduce our risk of dementia

The researchers point out that the UKBDRS is only a simple indicator, it makes it possible to estimate whether the risk of dementia is low or high but it does not make it possible to say with certainty that a person will develop dementia in the near future. . They are also a reminder that we can all take action to reduce our risk of dementia. “The importance of each risk factor varies and since some of the factors included in the score can be corrected or treated, there are things we can all do to help reduce our risk of dementia”, said Sana Suri, co-author of the study.

Indeed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), “the risk of cognitive decline and dementia can be reduced by being physically active, not smoking, avoiding the harmful use of alcohol, controlling weight, eating healthy foods and maintaining blood pressure, adequate blood sugar and cholesterol levels”.

A new prevention tool

For Sana Suri, the UKBDRS screening tool could help identify those most at risk of dementia and then give them advice that will help reduce this risk while there is still time. According to the researcher, the factors on which we can act to reduce the risk of dementia are diabetes, depression and high blood pressure.

Currently, more than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, more than 60% of them in low- and middle-income countries. Nearly 10 million new cases are detected each year.