By Eric Galatas, Public News Service
Neighbors can lower their dementia risk through minor adjustments in daily habits and policymakers can facilitate these healthy behaviors, granting elders more meaningful family time
Dementia, a disease with profound effects on families, loved ones and caregivers, affects more than 55 million people globally, including 6 million in the U.S. New research shows people can reduce their risks by making even small changes in their daily routines through exercise and eating more vegetables.
In addition to practicing self-care, policymakers can take to make it easier for people to maintain healthy behaviors. Sarah Lock, senior vice president for policy at AARP, said "When we (policymakers participate), we can disrupt dementia. That's a really exciting possibility, given that so many of us, as our nation (ages), (face) that risk."
Dementia is the third-leading cause of death in the nation for people age 70 and older, and two-thirds of Americans live with at least one of several major risks:
- Smokers consuming at least five cigarettes or more per day have a 16% higher dementia risk than nonsmokers
- People diagnosed with prediabetes face a 25% increased risk
- Prolonged exposure to air pollution from wildfires, brown clouds caused temperature inversions and lack of adequate vehicle exhaust protections.
Other high-risk factors include:
- Alcohol use
- Depression
- High body mass index
- Hearing loss
- Hypertension
- Low levels of education
- Physical inactivity
- Social isolation, and
- Traumatic brain injury.
Lock pointed out policies to reduce these risks can vary by state. For example, in Colorado, physical inactivity may not be as big of a problem, but untreated hearing loss is relatively high.
"We can suggest to policymakers that they focus on ways to help people screen and correct for hearing loss," Lock noted. "In Colorado, that might be a wiser use of public dollars, to go after the problem that seems to be biggest in your state."
Lock added the goal of the research is to offer people pathways to better brain health and to give older Americans more quality time with their loved ones. The findings were released by the new Dementia Risk Reduction Project, a collaboration between the American Association of Retired Persons, the Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative and the University of Washington.
Republished through a news sharing agreement with Colorado News Collaborative.
