15 factors that will contribute to his early development
Like many neurological diseases, dementia is accompanied by social stigmas that are not entirely accurate and which create obstacles to investigations free from prejudice: Some only affect older people or involve only memory loss.
While it is true that its prevalence begins to fluctuate from age 65, there are more and more diagnoses of what is known as early onset dementia; that is, the one that appears in the period between 30 and 64 years old. Thus, although there is not much research on this circumstance yet, recent reviews show that worldwide there are about 370,000 new cases cases of dementia praecox every year.
Until now, the early appearance of this set of brain lesions affecting cognitive function, among them Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for 60% to 70% of total cases of dementia, was due to genetics. However, new research has challenged traditional theories and revealed wide range of risk factors this can lead to the development of this type of disease.
15 risk factors
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Exeter (UK) and Maastricht University (Netherlands) and will help lay the foundation for new prevention strategies this would gradually reduce the alarming numbers associated with dementia.
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Using UK Biobank data for people aged under 65 and without a diagnosis of dementia at the time of initial assessment, the scientists were able to determine that: beyond genetic conditionsThere are certain characteristics of a person’s lifestyle that can increase their chances of early dementia develops. Namely:
- Have less formal education: Maintaining irregular cognitive activity can contribute to the deterioration of brain health.
- Send lower socioeconomic level: This condition is associated with a less healthy lifestyle.
- Have genetic predisposition: is a carrier of allele 2 of apolipoprotein ε4, which is an indicator for the diagnosis of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.
- suffer from a disorder alcohol consumption: Although moderate use may have a beneficial effect in preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, abuse of this substance may increase the risk of developing it.
- Feel socially isolated: This and other studies show that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of health problems such as cognitive decline.
- Introduce vitamin D deficiency: previous research has already found 40% fewer dementia diagnoses in the group taking vitamin D supplements.
- Current high level C-reactive protein (CRP): Participants who had the highest levels of CRP, which is determined by a test for inflammation in the body, showed greater decline in cognitive function, up to 11.6%.
- Have less gripping force: This condition serves as an indicator of cognitive aging.
- Have hearing impairment: Sound has the ability to stimulate the brain, so hearing loss can have a serious impact on cognitive health.
- Have low blood pressurealso known as orthostatic hypotension: low blood pressure events in the brain can cause cumulative damage to cognitive function.
- suffer iron: Having experienced, for example, an aneurysm, the likelihood of developing dementia increases.
- Suffer diabetes: It is known that this disease can damage blood vessels and is therefore considered a risk factor vascular dementiawhich is the second cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.
- Suffer heart diseases: Having had a heart attack, for example, increases the likelihood of developing dementia.
- Have depression: Depression is very common in the early and intermediate stages of many types of dementia. In fact, other studies have shown that there are more cases of depression among people with dementia than in the general population.
- Introduce chronic stress: Mental health also plays an important role in the development of various types of dementia.
How to reduce the risk?
The results obtained in this study shed light on risk factors for dementia in an underdiagnosed age group. According to Dr. Stevie Hendricks, this is of paramount importance because this set of diseases This has a very serious impact people who still have jobs, children and busy lives.
In addition, researchers insist that the causes of early dementia They can be reversible if certain habits are changed. from those mentioned above: “We already knew from studies of people who develop dementia later in life that there are a number of modifiable risk factors. The fact that this also occurs in early onset dementia was a surprise to me and perhaps also offer opportunities to reduce the risk in this group,” Sebastian Köhler, professor of neuroepidemiology at Maastricht University, said in an official statement.
Thus, the study marks new horizons in early dementia research by determining that the risk can be reduced, which in turn will usher in an era of measures to reduce new cases of the disease.