Dementia is on no account an inevitable results of aging. One in three cases of dementia is preventable, in keeping with recent findings published within the journal. Name of a scientific medical journal.
For the report – a primary for The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention and Care – my colleagues and I analyzed a variety of studies and developed a model showing how lifestyle changes at different ages can reduce an individual’s risk of developing dementia.
We considered potentially reversible risk aspects occurring at various stages of life – not only in old age. On this basis, we propose a brand new model demonstrating the possible impact of eliminating these risk aspects over the life course.
We’ve detailed compelling international evidence for nine lifestyle aspects that can reduce or increase an individual’s risk of developing dementia. These include: childhood education, exercise, social activity, quitting smoking, coping with hearing loss, depression, diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Each of those aspects can help prevent or delay dementia.
Keck Medicine of USC
Our message is: be ambitious about prevention; put them into practice. It’s never too early to begin educating yourself – and it’s never too late to envision your blood pressure and quit smoking. If you are 45 or older, get your blood pressure checked and keep it under control. Ask your loved ones in the event that they think your hearing is an issue, and if that’s the case, seek medical attention. Be physically, mentally and socially lively, control your weight and blood sugar levels.
The biggest challenge in healthcare
Dementia is the best global health and social care challenge of the twenty first century and the best fear of most individuals. People reside longer and dementia is especially a disease of old age, which implies that disease rates are rising. About 47 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. This number is anticipated to extend to 115 million by 2050.
In some countries, similar to the UK, USA, Sweden and the Netherlands, dementia is already delayed by years in individuals with higher education, so the proportion of older people affected by it has fallen, although more people suffer from dementia just because there are more older people. In many other countries, the proportion of older people affected by dementia has increased.
The global cost of dementia in 2015 was estimated at $818 billion (£630 billion) and this figure will proceed to rise because the number of individuals living with dementia increases. Almost 85% of the prices are family and social care, not medical. It often is the case that future recent medical care, including public health measures, could reduce a few of these costs.
The point is to do something now
Giving people information about what to do to stop dementia is a obligatory first step, nevertheless it shouldn’t be enough. There is a responsibility not only to professionals but in addition to society to implement this evidence into interventions that shall be widely and effectively used for individuals with dementia and their families. Therefore, our recommendations require public health in addition to individual effort. Interventions have to be accessible, sustainable and, if possible, enjoyable, otherwise they are going to not be used.
Of course, not everyone will have the opportunity to make changes, some changes is not going to make a difference, and some risk of dementia is genetic (about 7% of cases) and cannot currently be modified. Nevertheless, these interventions should delay the onset of dementia by several years for many individuals, which could be an enormous achievement and enable many more people to achieve the tip of life without developing dementia.
Effective dementia prevention can change the longer term of society. Acting now on what we already know can make that difference a reality.