- Early-onset dementia risk factors
- Lifestyle changes reduce risk
- Groundbreaking study’s vital insights
The risk of early-onset dementia is significantly increased by 15 factors. A “groundbreaking” study found alcohol misuse, lower socioeconomic level, loneliness, and hearing impairment.
Globally, nearly 4 million individuals develop symptoms of dementia before the age of 65, with 370,000 newly diagnosed annually.
While prior investigations have established that modifying lifestyle can decrease the likelihood of developing dementia in older adults, the authors of the recent study assert that this is the initial finding suggesting similar precautions can prevent early-onset dementia.
Analysing 350,000 individuals under 65 in the UK Biobank study, scholars from the universities of Exeter and Maastricht investigated various determinants influencing susceptibility to early-onset dementia, encompassing genetic, lifestyle, and environmental elements.
Fifteen factors were identified as substantially associated with an increased risk, including lifestyle choices such as alcoholism and social isolation, health conditions including hearing impairment and depression, and inadequate formal education or socioeconomic status.
“Fifteen lifestyle and health-related factors were identified in our study as being associated with the incidence of young-onset dementia,” the researchers stated.
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Modifiable Factors in Young-Onset Dementia Prevention
“Although additional investigation into these risk factors is required to ascertain potential underlying mechanisms, it may be possible that mitigating the risk of developing young-onset dementia through the management of these modifiable factors is feasible; they are also easily integrable into ongoing dementia prevention initiatives.”
Studies estimate that 1.7 million Brits will develop dementia by 2040, making it one of the UK’s worst health issues. Approximately 900,000 individuals live with dementia in the UK, with over 70,800 having early-onset dementia.
Professor of neuroepidemiology at Maastricht University and a main author of the study, Sebastian Kohler, stated: “Modifiable risk factors for dementia in the elderly were already identified through research.
“Alongside physical factors, mental health, which includes avoiding chronic stress, loneliness, and depression, is also crucial.” It came as a revelation that this is also evident in young-onset dementia. This may present opportunities to reduce risk in this population as well.
Senior research fellow at the University of Exeter, Dr. Janice Ranson, remarked that the study breaks new ground. It demonstrates that the risk of young-onset dementia can be reduced.
“We believe this may usher in a new era of interventions to prevent the emergence of this condition,” she continued.
The study was co-funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK, where the head of clinical research, Dr. Leah Mursaleen, stated: “Our knowledge of dementia risk and, conceivably, strategies to mitigate it at both the individual and societal levels are undergoing a paradigm shift.
“There has been an increasing consensus in recent years regarding the association between dementia and twelve distinct modifiable risk factors. These factors include smoking, hypertension, and auditory impairment.” Now, these factors may cause four out of ten dementia cases worldwide.
“This groundbreaking research also illuminates crucial and desperately required aspects regarding the determinants of young-onset dementia risk.” This begins to address a significant knowledge deficit. It is imperative to further investigate these findings in more comprehensive investigations.
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