Almost half of all dementia cases could potentially be prevented or delayed by adopting 12 health measures, a major review has found.
The review identified the biggest known risk factors for dementia as smoking, excess alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, head injury, depression, hearing loss and exposure to air pollution, as well as lack of exercise, education and social contact.
Minimising these 12 risks could potentially prevent or delay up to 40 per cent of dementia cases globally, according to the review of the latest evidence by 28 leading dementia experts from around the world.
“People who have family members with dementia often ask me, ‘Is there anything I can do to prevent myself from getting it?’,” says David Ames at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who was one of the authors of the review. “There are certainly some things you can do that might make a difference.”