New Study on Reducing the Prevalence of Dementia

A recent study carried out by researchers from the UK and France has made a breakthrough on understanding more about dementia and what risk factors are associated with it.

Dementia is an age-related syndrome which involves the progressive decline of cognitive abilities; it generally consists of victims suffering from memory loss, communication problems, and changes in mood. The study suggests that eliminating depression and diabetes has a large positive impact on lowering levels of dementia; and, the study also notes that ongoing learning and healthier diets play a beneficial role.

The study involved 1,433 healthy people over the age of 65 that went through cognitive testing every couple years. Individuals also provided information on their medical past and lifestyle involving their diets, level of education, income, alcohol consumption, and more. Researchers looked at many risk factors and discovered that when depression and diabetes were absent, and fruit and vegetable consumption were high, there was a 21% reduction in the number of individuals that later developed dementia. It is not clear if the relationship between depression and dementia is a direct link at this point, but the new information is encouraging to doctors and will be further studied.

Additionally, an increase in education level also showed a substantial decrease in the development of new dementia cases in the general population. Further investigation on lowering dementia rates will be done, but already new prevention methods are being considered. The latest health interventions should target early checks for diabetes, encourage further education for all ages, and provide early treatment of symptoms of depression. Dementia is debilitating for sufferers and can be even harder on the sufferer’s families. However, with new prevention strategies and continuing research, there is reason for hope in our battle against dementia.