tonkid\/ Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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Although there\u2019s still no cure, researchers are continuing to develop a better understanding of what increases a person\u2019s risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease. A recent study that looked at 396 studies has even been able to identify ten risk factors that are shown to increase the likelihood of developing the disease.<\/span><\/p>\nHere are the factors researchers identified \u2013 and why they\u2019re associated with a higher risk.<\/span><\/p>\n1. Education level<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nA lower education level is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Previous evidence shows the longer you spend in education, the lower your risk of developing dementia. Research looking at the brains of people from different educational backgrounds also showed that people who were more educated had heavier brains. As you lose one third of your brain weight because of dementia, a heavier brain may make you more resilient.<\/span><\/p>\n2. Cognitive activity<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nEvidence shows that keeping our brains active can also fight against dementia. Activities such as word puzzles stimulate your brain and can strengthen connectivity between brain cells. This connectivity is broken down in dementia.<\/span><\/p>\nThis latest study shows that we need to continue keeping our brains active, even in older age. Other studies agree that challenging our brains does indeed reduce our chances of developing dementia.<\/span><\/p>\n3. Hypertension in mid-life<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nHealthy hearts have long been linked to a healthy brain. Here, the current study indicates that high blood pressure (hypertension) in middle age increases Alzheimer\u2019s risk.<\/span><\/p>\nHigher incidence of heart disease in those suffering from high blood pressure impacts on the blood and nutrient supply to the brain. Interestingly, this association still exists even for those who have high blood pressure on its own. The bottom line is that reduced blood supply to the brain is linked with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n4. Orthostatic hypotension<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe study also highlighted orthostatic hypotension as a risk factor. This is when someone experiences low blood pressure when standing after sitting or lying down.<\/span><\/p>\nBecause the body is unable to maintain sufficient blood supply to the brain during posture changes, this can have a long-term debilitating influence on brain activity, as a result of lack of oxygen to the brain, which increases risk of dementia.<\/span><\/p>\n5. Diabetes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe study found diabetes was associated with higher incidence of Alzheimer\u2019s. As diabetes makes our body unable to properly regulate insulin, this changes both the way our brain cells communicate and our memory function \u2013 both of which are disrupted in Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/span><\/p>\nInsulin is essential, as it regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by helping blood glucose absorb into the liver, fat and muscles. Alzheimer\u2019s disease appears to disrupts the brain\u2019s ability to react to insulin.<\/span><\/p>\n6. BMI<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nA higher body mass index (BMI) in under 65s is linked to increased risk of dementia. The study suggests a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9 for those under 65 \u2013 a healthy weight, in other words \u2013 may lower dementia risk. However, being underweight in middle age and later life can increase dementia risk.<\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s thought that a mixture of genetics, cardiovascular diseases and inflammation all contribute to this association between BMI and dementia.<\/span><\/p>\n7. Head trauma<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nPast head trauma is a risk factor \u2013 and there is clear evidence that head trauma, such as a concussion, can contribute to the development of dementia. This link was first observed in 1928.<\/span><\/p>\nHowever, it\u2019s uncertain whether single or repetitive head trauma is the contributing factor. It\u2019s clear that brain damage from head trauma is similar to that of dementia. This makes people more susceptible to further damage later from dementia.<\/span><\/p>\n8. Hyperhomocysteinaemia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nHigh levels of the chemical homocysteine are a risk factor. Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid involved in the production of our body\u2019s defence mechanisms, including antioxidants that prevent cellular damage.<\/span><\/p>\nElevated blood levels of homocysteine in people with dementia was first reported in 1998. Studies have since shown that reducing levels of homocysteine may protect against dementia.<\/span><\/p>\nAnimal studies suggest elevated levels of homocysteine damage brain cells by interfering with their energy production. Consuming more folate and vitamin B12 can lower homocysteine levels \u2013 and may reduce dementia risk.<\/span><\/p>\n9. Depression<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThose living with Alzheimer\u2019s also often suffer from depression, though it\u2019s uncertain if depression causes Alzheimer\u2019s or is just a symptom of the disease. However, a wealth of evidence supports that depression is indeed a risk factor, as this latest study has found. Research has even indicated a link between the number of depressive episodes \u2013 especially ten years prior to dementia onset \u2013 and higher risk.<\/span><\/p>\nDepression increases levels of harmful chemicals in our brain. An imbalance in these chemicals can lead to loss of brain cells. This, coupled with the loss of brain cells in dementia, increases likelihood of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n10. Stress<\/span><\/p>\nLastly, stress was identified as a risk factor. Long term stress targets our body\u2019s immune cells, which are important in keeping dementia at bay. In particular, the hormone cortisol is shown to contribute to stress and can impact on memory. Aiming to reduce stress and cortisol levels can therefore reduce the chances of developing dementia.<\/span><\/p>\nThis study offers a complex picture of how we can combat the onset of Alzheimer\u2019s \u2013 as well as ten areas that scientists need to concentrate on researching in the future. Though the findings may seem bleak, there is some promise in that many of these risk factors can be managed or modified through lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise.<\/span><\/p>\nMark Dallas<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nAssociate Professor in Cellular Neuroscience, <\/span>
\nUniversity of Reading<\/span><\/p>\n
\n* Published in print edition on 24 July 2020<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stress, depression, and high blood pressure were just some of the risk factors the study’s researchers identified Many of these risk factors are preventable.\u00a0tonkid\/ Shutterstock Although there\u2019s still no cure, researchers are continuing to develop a better understanding of what increases a person\u2019s risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease. A recent study that looked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":28009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8348],"tags":[14477,8367,16919,10531,946,26048,19808,6730],"class_list":["post-28008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-conversation","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-dementia","tag-depression","tag-diabetes","tag-education","tag-health-risk-factors","tag-high-blood-pressure","tag-stress"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Old.jpg?fit=922%2C496&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-7hK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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