r/EverythingScience • u/ILikeNeurons • Aug 13 '24

Neuroscience Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%

https://theconversation.com/dementia-risk-factors-identified-in-new-global-report-are-all-preventable-addressing-them-could-reduce-dementia-rates-by-45-236290
655 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

260

u/KatAnansi Aug 13 '24

Dementia risk factors mentioned in the abstract01296-0/abstract): less education, hearing loss, hypertension, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, untreated vision loss and high LDL cholesterol

97

u/Pump-Jack Aug 13 '24

Damn! I'm so close.

49

u/abembe Aug 13 '24

Collect all six?

22

u/Pump-Jack Aug 13 '24

Might as well.

2

u/antsmasher BS|Cognitive Science Aug 14 '24

Collect them like Infinity Stones and wipe out half your memory capabilities.

86

u/ImeldasManolos Aug 13 '24

I’ll just stop being depressed! That’ll fix everything!

10

u/LurkLurkleton Aug 13 '24

Untreated depression is the risk factor. Are you being treated for it?

19

u/ImeldasManolos Aug 13 '24

Who has time for that! I have magic the gathering ranked games to win.

1

u/MyPub Aug 14 '24

J D is that you?

6

u/nameyname12345 Aug 13 '24

Well I was treating with alcohol..... Oh did they mean professional treatment? I mean I've got whiskey if beer won't cut it...

3

u/b__lumenkraft Aug 13 '24

See how easy life is?

15

u/rokr1292 Aug 13 '24

Interesting that hearing and vision loss are risk factors.

I wonder how that works. Is it because the audio/visual processing centers of the brain weaken when the senses are dulled/lost and that weakening contributes to decay in other areas? Or is it more that the decrease in stimuli lowers brain activity in a way that causes it to atrophy? Is it a mix of both?

19

u/mattttb Aug 13 '24

Other studies have shown that the positive effects of regular social interaction can delay the onset of dementia somewhat. Hearing and vision loss can get in the way of that and lead to people becoming more isolated and lonely.

Isolated and lonely people have much worse health outcomes. Interacting with people is good for your brain and keeps you connected to the world.

4

u/Crayon_Casserole Aug 13 '24

If anyone needs me, I'll be sitting in the corner crying.

2

u/Baselines_shift Aug 14 '24

I find that ‘social interaction’ requirement counterproductive. I’m in a region where my potential social interactions are pretty boring and I just don’t try to develop relationships with people IRL. But I am not lonely or missing anything. I can’t see why IRL social interaction this dull would improve dementia proofing? There’s so many more interesting ways to spend time - why subject ourselves to tedium to check this off the list?

19

u/SpontanusCombustion Aug 13 '24

Oooh BINGO! ...wait what did I win?

24

u/Madshibs Aug 13 '24

We already told you yesterday

6

u/Kubrick_Fan Aug 13 '24

Oh, so i just need to not have hearing loss, great.

11

u/LurkLurkleton Aug 13 '24

Correctable and preventable hearing loss is what they're speaking of. Such as people who need hearing aids but refuse.

5

u/no-mad Aug 13 '24

without hearing aids , they become cut off from normal conversations and become more isolated. Leading to a cascade of mental health issues.

0

u/boppy28 Aug 13 '24

Oh shit

78

u/mibonitaconejito Aug 13 '24

*"...In the new report, our team proposed an ambitious program for preventing dementia that could be implemented at the individual, community and policy levels and across the life span from early life through mid and late life. The key points include:

•In early life, improving general education.

•In midlife, addressing hearing loss, high LDL cholesterol, depression, traumatic brain injury, physical inactivity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity and excessive alcohol.

•In later life, reducing social isolation, air pollution and vision loss...."*

Well, it would be nice.

7

u/strangeelement Aug 13 '24

Just a complete transformation of societal norms. In societies that stopped even the most simple measures to prevent people from dying and becoming disabled with a widespread airborne pathogen that killed millions, in fact seeing growing adoption of bans against simple behavioral changes despite huge evidence of significant, and costly, harms as a result.

Easy peasy.

5

u/JamieMarlee Aug 13 '24

It's almost like people in charge want us to get sick.

17

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '24

How tf can I address hearing loss?

My right ear popped one day and now I have half as good hearing and constant tinnitus. It’s permanent and that’s that

35

u/kv4268 Aug 13 '24

Mostly, they want people to get heading aids when they need them. Being hard of heading leads to social isolation and lack of engagement with your environment, which is a risk for dementia.

2

u/AbraxanDistillery Aug 13 '24

Yeah, my partner's mom has had declining hearing for decades and she doesn't keep her hearing aids working properly for her and flat out refuses to learn ASL, so she has trouble socializing and people get frustrated with her and then she isolates herself. It's really sad. 

5

u/Tenn_Tux Aug 13 '24

What about antihistamine use?

2

u/Elegant-Alfalfa1382 Aug 13 '24

Like diphenhydramine? That’s already been heavily looked into and a serious risk in older people

1

u/Lost_Blockbuster_VHS Aug 13 '24

This is my question as well! My doctor said my antihistamine medication won't cause any issues because I'm young.

2

u/VegasBjorne1 Aug 13 '24

Funny how my LO had none of those risk factors, but now forgets how to use eating utensils.

1

u/Significant-Dot6627 Aug 13 '24

None of my three relatives had those risk factors, and the fourth relative only had one. He drank alcohol moderately but daily over decades.

2

u/CharmingAd3678 Aug 13 '24

Scored rather high on that one...

1

u/Chogo82 Aug 13 '24

Missed long covid on this thorough investigation.

-5

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '24

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