Scientists have identified 12 modifiable lifestyle factors(Lancet 2020) that make cognitive decline more likely.
These 12 factors are:
Why detect early?
Cognitive impairment sounds scary, especially if you think there’s nothing you can do about it once you’ve been diagnosed.
But that’s simply not true.
Smoking
Excessive alcohol consumption
Traumatic brain injury
Levels of education in early life
Hypertension
Hearing loss
Diabetes
Air pollution
Social isolation
Depression
Obesity
Physical inactivity
You can be proactive and reactive, but you need to know as early as possible.
Half of the risk factors make their impact before the age of 65.
Many of these risk factors are things you can change. In fact, evidence suggests more than a third of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by taking action. (Lancet 2017)
For instance, getting your hearing tested or wearing hearing aids could protect your brain health. So could taking blood pressure medication, doing more exercise or cutting back on the booze.
While a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) might be frightening at first, the condition can be effectively managed and you can take a number of steps to reduce the chances of developing dementia.
What happens after a diagnosis?
There’s a growing number of pharmaceutical treatments that work to stop the impact of cognitive impairment. While there is no “cure” for dementia now, it’s a real possibility that there will be effective treatments to stop neurodegeneration in the very near future.
Find out more about Cognetivity’s ICA
A five-minute cognitive health check