MILLIONS could be saved from developing Alzheimer’s disease by making a few simple changes to their lifestyle, experts reveal today.
Around 820,000 Brits suffer from dementia - but this will rise to nearly 2million by 2050[GETTY]They are diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, lack of exercise, depression, smoking and poor education.
Many of these are linked to an unhealthy lifestyle. The Cambridge University research suggests changes could slash the number of sufferers by up to a third.
Dr Deborah Barnes, coauthor of the study, said: “Although there is no single way to prevent dementia we may be able to take steps to reduce our risk of developing it. Simply tackling physical inactivity, for example, will reduce levels of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes and prevent some people from developing dementia.
“It will also give them a healthier old age in general. It’s a win-win situation.”
The research, published in the journal Lancet Neurology, found that a third of Alzheimer’s cases are “potentially treatable” because they are caused by risk factors that can be modi?ed.
The rest are down to genetics. At least 820,000 people in Britain suffer from dementia but by 2050 experts believe there will be 1.94 million, of which 650,000 cases will be preventable.
In practice, say the researchers, it is more likely that a fifth of cases rather than a third could be prevented – some 388,000 in Britain by 2050 and millions worldwide.
Simple changes such as physical exercise can help ward off dementia [GETTY]It’s a win-win situation
Professor Carol Brayne, of the Cambridge Institute of Public Health, said: “There are things that society could be doing that could reduce the risk so that people enter older age in a healthier state and therefore at a lower risk of developing dementia.
“It doesn’t mean they are going to prevent it altogether but it might lower the risk.”
A University of California study led by Dr Barnes in 2011 estimated that half of Alzheimer’s cases could be potentially treatable.
The latest research has reduced this to a third after assessing the seven risk factors together rather than on an individual basis.
Dr Barnes added: “Alzheimer’s disease is placing an ever increasing burden on health services worldwide as well as on patients and their carers. Our hope is that this research will help public health professionals and health policy makers design effective strategies to prevent and manage this disease.” Alzheimer’s campaigners welcomed the research and called on the Government to do more to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This valuable study adds to a growing body of evidence strongly suggesting that simple lifestyle changes can help lower our risk of developing dementia. With 106 million people on this planet expected to be living with the condition by 2050, the prospect of preventing up to one in three cases of Alzheimer’s disease is something we cannot ignore.”
Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “While age is the biggest risk factor for most cases of Alzheimer’s, there are a number of lifestyle and general health factors that could increase or decrease a person’s chances of developing the disease.
“This new analysis suggests many cases could be prevented by increasing physical activity, quitting smoking and altering diet to reduce the cases of diabetes.”
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