according to a study published Thursday in The British Medical Journal.
Scientists from Oxford University and other institutes examined the data of nearly 225,000 U.K. residents with an average age of 60, following them for 14 years.
Over that time, around 2% were diagnosed with the degenerative cognitive condition,
experienced by an estimated 55 million worldwide.
Based on this information, researchers were able to whittle down a list of nearly 30 factors that potentially put people at a higher risk of dementia into a set of 11 that appear to be most impactful:
Age (typically 65 and older)
Lack of education
History of diabetes
History of/current depression
History of stroke
Parental dementia
Economic disadvantage
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Living alone
Being male
The new screening tool developed based on the findings is called the UK Biobank Dementia Risk Score, or UKBDRS. Dr. Raihaan Patel, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford and a lead author on the study, hopes it can eventually be used by primary care providers to easily screen those ages 50-73 for the condition.
“We see this fitting in as an initial step of identifying high or low risk,”
Patel says, adding that high-risk individuals can be sent for further testing.
When compared with other existing screening tools, the UKBDRS—paired with knowledge of whether individuals carried the APOE e4 gene variant, putting them at higher risk of dementia—gave the most accurate results, followed by the UKBDRS alone, age alone,
then three other existing screening tools.
The new screener can serve as a conversation starter, Patel says, allowing providers an opportunity to encourage patients with diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and/or high cholesterol to make lifestyle changes that could reduce their risk of developing the condition. A person who has diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol is three times more likely than a person of the same age to develop dementia.
“You can really make a big difference in your risk by focusing on cardiometabolic health,” he says.
What is dementia?
Dementia isn’t one single condition. Rather, it’s a set of symptoms that fit a variety
of disorders caused by abnormal changes to the brain, from either disease or injury.
Contrary to popular belief, dementia isn’t a normal part of aging.
Alzheimer’s disease accounts for the bulk of dementia cases—60% to 80%, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Other forms, according to the World Health Organization, include:
Vascular dementia, caused by impaired blood flow to the brain.
Dementia with Lewy bodies, abnormal deposits of protein inside nerve cells.
(This condition was made famous by the late actor Robin Williams.)
Other diseases that contribute to frontotemporal dementia, caused by degeneration of the frontal lobe of the brain. (Frontotemporal dementia has made headlines as of late thanks to Bruce Willis, who was recently diagnosed with the condition.)
It can also be caused by other factors,
including medical events and conditions like:
Stroke
HIV
Harmful alcohol use
Repetitive physical brain juries (“chronic traumatic encephalopathy”)
Nutritional deficiencies
People with Alzheimer’s disease tend to be deficient in these 5 nutrients
that ‘help keep brains in top condition at all ages,’ researchers say,
Levels of five micronutrients are “strikingly lower” in the brains of
those who have Alzheimer’s disease compared with those who don’t.
That’s according to new research published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease by Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine professor C. Kathleen Dorey and a team of researchers.
Scientists analyzed the brains of 31 donors, the average age of which was 75 years.
Most, but not all, had died with Alzheimer’s disease. Compared with unaffected brains, they found that brains of those with the disease had around half the level of the following micronutrients—vitamins and minerals critical to the body’s function, but needed in only small amounts: MCT OIL AND ALZHEIMERS & DEMENTIA – Search (bing.com)
• Lycopene: An antioxidant that could help protect cells from damage, lycopene gives some fruits and vegetables—like tomatoes, watermelon, red oranges, pink grapefruits, apricots, and guavas—their red hue.
• Retinol: A form of Vitamin A that helps the immune system work properly, retinol helps you see in dim lighting and keeps skin healthy. It’s found in foods like cheese, eggs, oily fish, milk, yogurt, and liver. The body can convert beta-carotene into retinol, so indirect sources include yellow, red, and green leafy vegetables like spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and red peppers, as well as yellow fruits like mangos, papaya, and apricots.
• Lutein: Often referred to as the “eye vitamin,” lutein is thought to protect eye tissue from sun damage. You can find it in foods like egg yolks, spinach, kale, corn, orange peppers, kiwis, grapes, zucchinis, and squash.
• Zeaxanthin: An antioxidant, zeaxanthin is known to protect eye tissues from the sun. It’s found in eggs, oranges, grapes, corn, goji berries, mango, and orange peppers.
• Vitamin E: Also, an antioxidant, Vitamin E keeps free radicals in check, improves immune function, and can prevent clots from forming in the arteries of the heart. It can be found in plant-based oils, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables like sunflower oil, soybean oil, almonds, peanuts, spinach, pumpkin, red bell peppers, asparagus, mangoes, and avocados.
All five micronutrients are antioxidants, substances that may prevent or delay some cell damage. Lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin are also carotenoids, nutrient-rich pigments found in fruits and vegetables. Other large studies have found that the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease was “significantly lower” in those who ate diets rich in carotenoids, or who had high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in their blood or retina, according to Dorey.
New human brain atlas is the most detailed one we’ve seen yet (msn.com)
Multiple studies have also found that those who follow MIND
(Mediterranean/Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay)—which emphasizes the consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and fish, with very little meat, dairy, and sweets—had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, better cognitive function prior to death, and fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in those who did develop the condition.
The boundaries between different types of dementia are “indistinct,
and mixed forms often co-exist,” according to the WHO.
In addition to the risk factors discussed above, others include:
Being overweight or obese
Smoking
Drinking too much alcohol
Being physically inactive
Being socially isolated
Symptoms of dementia
Often, the first sign of dementia is a change in mood or behavior, according to the WHO. Symptoms typically get worse with time, leading to eventual need for assistance with daily living.
Early signs and symptoms, according to the international health organization, include:
Forgetting things or recent events
Losing or misplacing things
Getting lost when walking or driving
Being confused, even in familiar places
Losing track of time
Difficulties solving problems or making decisions
Problems following conversations or troubles with finding words
Difficulties performing usual tasks
Misjudging distances to objects visually
Changes in mood or behavior may look like the following:
Feeling sad, angry, or anxious about memory loss
Personality changes
Inappropriate behavior
Withdrawal from work or social activities
A reduced interest in the emotions of others
What to do if you suspect dementia
Those concerned that they or a loved one may have dementia should consult their primary care provider, who will likely perform a physical exam and detailed medical history, pull labs, and ask questions.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to diagnose a specific type of dementia due
to overlap in conditions, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
If this is the case, your doctor might simply diagnose “dementia,” then make
a referral to a specialist like a neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or geriatrician.