One in three cases of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide is preventable, according to research from the University of Cambridge.
The main risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are a lack of exercise, smoking, depression and poor education, the study says. Previous research from 2011 put the estimate at one in two cases, but this new study takes into account overlapping risk factors.
The Cambridge team analysed population-based data to work out the main seven risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
These are:
- Diabetes
- Mid-life hypertension
- Mid-life obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Depression
- Smoking
- Low educational attainment
They worked out that a third of Alzheimer’s cases could be linked to lifestyle factors that could be modified, such as lack of exercise and smoking.
The researchers then looked at how reducing these factors could affect the number of future Alzheimer’s cases. They found that by reducing each risk factor by 10%, nearly nine million cases of the disease could be prevented by 2050.
“Simply tackling physical inactivity, for example, will reduce levels of obesity, hypertension and diabetes, and prevent some people from developing dementia”
said Prof. Carol Brayne, study leader.
Source: Lancet Neurology