A Study Has Revealed The Biggest Risk Factors For Getting Early Dementia, And Knowledge Is Power
The data analyzed the behaviors of over 350,000 participants younger than 65 across the United Kingdom to evaluate young-onset dementia, which occurs before age 65. The researchers found there are 15 common issues that can contribute to the early development of the condition. A few have to do with genetics and other elements outside our control, but many others are modifiable.
The study is meaningful to experts because it 'looks at young-onset dementia risk factors in a way that has only been done in late-onset dementias previously,' according to Dr. Kevin Bickart, an assistant professor in neurology at the University of California Los Angeles Health's David Geffen School of Medicine. The study features 'a very large sample that was prospectively followed from healthy baseline to a dementia diagnosis with lots of data collection.'
Here's what to know:
The biggest risk factors for young-onset dementia:
Related: "This Has Taken Me Years And Years And YEARS To Figure Out": This Woman's Clever Way To Tell If Someone Is Your Real Friend Is Being Called The Most Accurate Thing Ever
Related: 25 Eye-Opening Confessions From A Trauma Therapist That Changed The Way I Think About Mental Health
The large-scale study looked at 39 possible risk factors and determined that 15 of them made the biggest difference when it came to developing dementia before the age of 65. Those include:
Social isolation
Lower formal education
Lower socioeconomic status
Carrying two copies of the APOE gene (a marker that influences Alzheimer's risk)
Vitamin D deficiency
Hearing impairment
Alcohol use disorder
No alcohol use (abstinence)
Depression
High C-reactive protein levels
Lower handgrip strength (physical frailty)
Orthostatic hypotension (a form of low blood pressure)
Stroke
Diabetes
Heart disease
Although some recognized risks are out of many people's control ― like being a carrier of the APOE gene or your socioeconomic status ― others can be managed through lifestyle changes.
What you can do to lower your risk of early-onset dementia.
Overall, the study results are consistent with what medical experts have been advising patients for years.
Dr. Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, an assistant professor of psychiatry and of neurology at the Yale School of Medicine, recommended three 'lifestyle measures' that folks may want to consider when trying to lower their risk of young-onset dementia ― starting with physical exercise.
'An active daily exercise practice can have far-reaching benefits, which include enhanced neurocognitive function,' Fesharaki-Zadeh said, adding that physical activity can boost neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons and synapses), vasculogenesis (the creation of new blood vessels) while also providing inherent mood benefits.
Next, focus on eating nourishing foods. Fesharaki-Zadeh championed a Mediterranean-based diet, mentioning its well-documented benefits.
'Such dietary practice, which includes food groups such as green leafy vegetables, olive oil, salmon and blueberries, is rich in vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, as well as antioxidants ― all neuroprotective factors,' he explained.
Fesharaki-Zadeh recommended cognitive, mood and social stimulation to keep your mind sharp.
For cognitive stimulation, this could look like learning a new language or attending a seminar, listening to music or dancing. Basically, anything that engages your mind will help it stay healthy. Mood stimulation, on the other hand, relates to stress reduction practices, 'such as mindfulness and yoga,' Fesharaki-Zadeh said.
As for social stimulation, it's pretty simple: Try to connect with other humans face-to-face and actually talk to them as much as possible. 'In the era of pandemic and now post-pandemic, quality social connections should increasingly be encouraged and practiced,' Fesharaki-Zadeh said.
While these habits don't cover the whole list of dementia risk factors, they are a pretty solid start.This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Also in Goodful: Therapists Are Revealing The Moments That Made Them Break Their "No Judgment" Rule, And I'm Honestly Speechless
Also in Goodful: 19 "Garbage" Modern Trends People Refuse To Partake In Despite Their Popularity
Also in Goodful: Medical Professionals Are Sharing "Mundane" Things That Actually Make So Many People Sick
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists Just Linked This Diet to a Lower Lung Cancer Risk
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD At this point, you've likely heard about the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet and the MIND diet. But there's one diet that might be new to you: the planetary health diet (PHD). The PHD was developed in 2019 by the EAT-Lancet Commission and focuses on promoting human health and environmental sustainability. The planetary health diet is primarily plant-based, focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains and unsaturated fats. It includes small amounts of animal-based proteins, including seafood, poultry and dairy, but these are eaten in much smaller quantities, as most protein comes from plant protein. Added sugars, refined grains and processed meats are limited or avoided. Research regarding the planetary health diet has been mixed, so researchers from Austria and Switzerland wanted to see what they could find out about the relationship between the planetary health diet and mortality, cancer and heart disease. They published their results in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. How Was This Study Conducted? Researchers drew their data from the UK Biobank, a long-running study that collects demographic, health and medical data from over 500,000 UK citizens. Baseline data were gathered between 2006 and 2010, with the average age at baseline ranging from 40 to 69. Assessments were repeated every few years and collected data on lifestyle, health status and diet. Researchers also had access to medical records and death registries. For this current study, researchers used varying numbers of participants for three different analyses: almost 205,000 were used in the mortality risk analyses, over 200,000 for the cancer risk analyses, and over 196,000 for the cardiovascular disease risk analyses. Adherence to the planetary health diet eating pattern was scored based on the inclusion of 14 primary food components of the planetary health diet. Participants scored one point for each food or food group they included, with a possible high score of 14. Scores for this study ranged from 1 to 11 points, which represents low to medium diet adherence. What Did This Study Find? After running statistical analyses, including adjusting for potential confounding factors (factors that might influence or change results), researchers found that: Every 1-point increase in the PHD score was related to a 3% decrease in all-cause mortality (risk of dying from anything). Every 1-point increase in the PHD score was associated with a 9% lower lung cancer risk. When all factors were fully adjusted for, no relationship was found in this study between the PHD and cardiovascular disease risk. There were several limitations of this study. Because comparatively few people in the Biobank were following a planetary health diet eating pattern, the confidence of these results is lower than it would have been had there been more people following it. Also, out of the five possible Biobank 24-hour dietary recalls, about 40% of the participants completed just one of them. Again, less data means less confidence in the results. And since the Biobank includes mostly white adults from Europe, it is unknown if the results can be generalized to other groups. How Does This Apply to Real Life? The term 'plant-based diet' can mean different things to different people. While some equate it to a vegan, all-plant diet, others see it more as making plants the foundation of your diet, while still including small amounts of animal-based foods, like eggs, dairy, fish and poultry. The latter is what the planetary health diet is about. It also limits added sugar, refined grains and processed meats. Eating more plants has many benefits, including reduced disease risk. This is in part thanks to plants' antioxidants and their ability to create a healthy gut microbiome by providing food for your gut's beneficial bacteria. A healthy gut can help lower chronic inflammation, which helps reduce disease risk. And while you can add helpful bacteria to your gut with fermented plants—like sauerkraut or kimchi—many people find it easier to get them in yogurt or kefir, which is where the animal protein can come in. It's easy to get stuck in a rut with fruits and vegetables, or to always turn to bread for whole grains. But there are lots of creative ways to use whole grains—like rice, quinoa, farro and oats—that don't include bread. Grain bowls are a delicious way to eat more plants, and they can be tailored to your taste and preferences. They're also easy to meal-prep for lunches throughout the week. We also love salads as meals. You can pack every food group into a salad if you want to. You'll love our filling, satisfying High-Protein Pasta Salad, Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Beans or Salmon Salad with Crispy White Beans. If you want more guidance and are ready to go all in on increasing your plant intake, check out our 7-Day Plant-Based High-Protein Meal Plan for Beginners. It's loaded with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins, like peanut butter, edamame and beans, to keep you full and satisfied. Whether you use the plan as is or use it as inspiration, you'll find it fun and easy to get more plants into your meals and snacks. Our Expert Take This study suggests that eating more plants may reduce your risk of all-cause mortality and lung disease. While this study didn't show an association between eating a plant-based diet and reduced risk of heart disease, other studies have. Just remember that eating more plants doesn't have to be all or nothing. Start where you're at and be intentional with choosing plant-based foods more often. Snacks can be an easy way to start. Instead of reaching for your typical snack, try a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit, or dip fruit slices into nut butter or veggie sticks into guacamole or hummus. Read the original article on EATINGWELL
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
500-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Ocean Origin For Spiders
The special brains of spiders may have started to evolve in the oceans, long before their ancestors crawled onto land. A fresh look at a 500-million-year-old fossil by researchers from the University of Arizona and Lycoming College in the US and King's College London has revealed remarkable similarities between the brains of extinct marine arthropods and modern-day arachnids. The discovery wades into controversial territory regarding the evolutionary origin of spiders and their relatives. Today, spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks are virtually all terrestrial, and the prevailing view is that these arachnids evolved from a common, land-dwelling ancestor. Related: Where that ancestor came from is a whole other mystery. Arachnids on land are related to other 'chelicerates' in the ocean, like sea spiders and horseshoe crabs, but the fossil record is very patchy. "It is still vigorously debated where and when arachnids first appeared, and what kind of chelicerates were their ancestors, and whether these were marine or semi-aquatic like horseshoe crabs," explains University of Arizona neuroscientist Nicholas Strausfeld. The transition from sea to land is a big step for a little creature, no matter how many legs it has. The oldest accepted remains of an arachnid are of a 430-million-year-old scorpion, a critter that lived on land. But new evidence suggests that arachnids as a whole may have started to diverge from other chelicerates long before that. On the outside, Mollisonia symmetrica may not look very 'spidery'. It kind of resembles a pillbug with a bunch of little legs, and previously, it was thought to be an ancestor of horseshoe crabs. Using light microscopy, researchers have now imaged the fossil's central nervous system and come across an unexpected find. The nervous system of Mollisonia doesn't resemble that of a horseshoe crab or even a crustacean or insect. Instead, the pattern of radiating neural centers was flipped backward, like that of an arachnid. "The arachnid brain is unlike any other brain on this planet," explains Strausfeld. In the Mollisonia fossil, the unique nervous system seems to innervate numerous legs, as well as two pincer-like mouth parts, where modern spiders now have fangs. "This is a major step in evolution, which appears to be exclusive to arachnids," says evolutionary neuroscientist Frank Hirth from King's College London. "Yet already in Mollisonia, we identified brain domains that correspond to living species… " That seems to be no coincidence. Upon further statistical analysis, Hirth and colleagues have found that arachnids probably didn't evolve similar structures to Mollisonia by accident; they were more likely inherited. If the team is right, that puts Mollisonia at the base of the arachnid lineage, making it a sister to horseshoe crabs and sea spiders. While still speculative, it's possible that the unique brain structure seen in the Mollisonia lineage helped its later successors survive on land. Neural 'shortcuts' to the legs and pincers, for instance, could make it easier to control and coordinate complex movements, like walking or weaving webs. "We might imagine that a Mollisonia-like arachnid also became adapted to terrestrial life making early insects and millipedes their daily diet," theorizes Strausfeld. Perhaps it was the earliest arachnids on land that first drove insects to evolve wings and hence flight – and maybe, in turn, airborne prey led to the evolution of webs. From the ocean floor to the treetops, the way that arachnids have adapted to the changing times is truly enviable. The study was published in Current Biology. Related News Secret Bone Armor Discovered Beneath Skins of Australian Lizards Many Butterflies Have a Second 'Head' – This Could Be Why Your Dog May Prefer Certain TV Shows, Research Suggests Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Failure to act on 999 call by authorities led to death of malnourished teenager and unwell mother
A teenager with learning difficulties would not have died if an ambulance had been sent to her home following a 999 call made three months before her body was found, a coroner has said. The bodies of Loraine Choulla, aged 18, and her mother Alphonsine Djiako Leuga were both discovered on May 21 last year at their home in Hartley Road, Radford, Nottingham. A week-long inquest heard that Loraine, who had Down's syndrome, was 'entirely dependent' on her mother, who had made a 999 call giving her address and postcode and asking for help on February 2 last year, while feeling unwell. During the 999 call, made shortly after 1pm on February 2, Ms Leuga groaned, requested an ambulance and said 'I need help to my daughter' and 'I'm in the bed, I feel cold and can't move' before cutting off the line. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) did not send an ambulance to the address after the call was wrongly classed as being abandoned by the caller, the inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court was told. Summing up the evidence and recording her conclusion on Friday, Nottingham Assistant Coroner Amanda Bewley said 47-year-old Ms Leuga, who born in Cameroon, had frequently refused to answer calls and had gone away for periods of longer than a month. The coroner said she was 'astonished' that Ms Leuga and her daughter were found after a member of the public contacted police after noticing he had not seen them for a lengthy period, rather than by professionals between February and May. After adding that the city council's adult social care department had 'missed opportunities to intervene' and potentially secure a different outcome, the coroner added: 'I am entirely satisfied that had EMAS sent an ambulance to Alphonsine that Loraine would not have died when she died. 'She would most probably still be alive. 'I am clear that Alphonsine died first and Loraine died afterwards.' Ms Leuga died from pneumonia between February 2 and February 8, the coroner recorded, while Loraine had died from dehydration and malnutrition and 'survived her mother by three weeks or more'. The coroner added that she was 'confident to a point of near certainty' that had an ambulance been sent to the address on February 2, Loraine would have been discovered and arrangements made for her needs to be met. The inquest was told that Ms Leuga was admitted to hospital for a blood transfusion in late January last year as she was critically ill with very low iron levels, and was given a 'pragmatic' discharge linked to her daughter's care needs. Pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told the hearing by video-link that the mother and daughter were both likely to have been dead for 'weeks to months' before they were found, rather than for days or hours. Dr Hamilton said his initial cause of death following a post-mortem examination on Ms Leuga was pneumonia of uncertain cause, while her daughter's cause of death could not be established. Answering questions from the coroner, the pathologist said he could not rule out that Ms Leuga had died on the day of the 999 call. The body of Loraine, who was born in Italy, showed no evidence of any third party involvement. Dr Hamilton said of the teenager: 'Unfortunately, based on the post-mortem examination and additional tests alone, it is my view that the cause of death is classed as unascertained – that is, I am not able to give a cause of death on the balance of probabilities.' In a statement issued after the inquest, Keeley Sheldon, director of quality at EMAS, said: 'I am truly sorry that we did not respond as we should have to Alphonsine Djiako Leuga and Loraine Choulla. 'Our deepest condolences remain with their family. 'We fully accept the coroner's findings. After our internal investigation, we made changes to our policies, procedures and training to ensure this does not happen in future.'
