A recent report by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care linked 12 Risk Factors to 40% of the world’s dementia cases. Three – excessive alcohol intake (including any history of passing out with ETOH), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and pollution were recently added to the original nine which were depression; not completing secondary education, hypertension; obesity; hearing loss; smoking; depression; physical inactivity, social isolation; and diabetes. Interestingly, in a study published in the journal Neurology, treatment with a SSRI antidepressant escitalopram lowered amyloid-beta-42 (AB42) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting a potential role for these drugs in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.
Recommendations to help prevent risk for dementia include:
- Getting treated for depressive illness
- Aim to maintain systolic blood pressure of 130mmHg or less in midlife from around age 40 years
- Encourage use of hearing aids for hearing loss, and reduce hearing loss by protecting ears from high noise levels
- Reduce exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke
- Prevent head injury, particularly by targeting high-risk occupations
- Prevent alcohol misuse and limit drinking to less than 21 units per week in males and 15 in females
- Stop smoking and support individual to stop smoking
- Lead an active life into midlife and possibly later life
- Reduce obesity and diabetes