by Sue Moroney, RN
Many of us set New Year’s resolutions to improve our health and enhance our quality of life. Recent evidence indicates that tackling 14 modifiable lifestyle factors may delay or prevent dementia. These recommendations not only help prevent or delay dementia but also lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions that affect our lives.
Twenty-seven leading dementia experts from around the world gathered for the third time to evaluate this new evidence. In July 2024, the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care revealed that addressing 14 lifestyle factors could prevent or delay 45% of dementia cases.
The Lancet Commission’s recommendations for preventing or delaying the onset of dementia include the following:
- Finish high school. Low educational attainment can make people more vulnerable to cognitive decline.
- Treat hearing loss. Studies suggest an association between hearing loss and the development of dementia.
- Lower high cholesterol level. Studies have reported that high LDL cholesterol in midlife is associated with a higher risk of dementia.
- Treat depression. Depression at all adult ages is associated with higher dementia risk, but the evidence is most clear for midlife depression.
- Prevent traumatic brain injuries(TBI). TBIs most often occur from contact sports such as boxing, motor vehicle or bicycle accidents, falls, and military accidents. Protect your head by wearing seat belts and helmets. Studies indicate that traumatic brain injury is associated with higher dementia risk, possibly leading to earlier onset of dementia by two to three years than in people without traumatic brain injury.
- Be physically active by exercising. “The World Health Organization recommends that adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity) every week, along with at least two days a week of muscle-strengthening activities”.
- Prevent type 2 diabetes. The age of onset makes a difference, with a midlife onset of type 2 diabetes being significantly associated with higher dementia risk, while late-life onset is not.
- Stop smoking. People who smoke are at a higher risk of developing all types of dementia and a much higher risk (up to 79%) for Alzheimer’s disease, specifically.
- Treat high blood pressure. Hypertension or high blood pressure in midlife increases the risk of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity in midlife causes an increased risk of dementia when compared to people with healthy body weight.
- Reduce alcohol intake. Heavy alcohol use was associated with a higher risk of dementia and changes in brain structures.
- Prevent social isolation. Fewer social contact and more loneliness have all been associated with higher dementia risk.
- Reduce exposure to air pollution. Stay indoors when air pollution is high and close vents and windows when you are in heavy traffic.
- Correct vision problems. Vision impairment is associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
According to the World Health Organization, eliminating these 14 risk factors could theoretically prevent “nearly half of dementias.”
The Lancet Commission, vol 404, Issue 10452
