Artigo do The Guardian, recomendado pelo nosso neto Antônio A. Olivé
Lifestyle changes could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases – study
Addressing 12 factors such as excessive drinking and air pollution exposure may
have significant effect, experts say The hands of an elderly woman Around 50
million people around the world live with dementia, including about 850,000
people in the UK. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Nicola Davis @NicolaKSDavis Published
onThu 30 Jul 2020 17.30 BST 1,040 Excessive drinking, exposure to air pollution
and head injuries all increase dementia risk, experts say in a report revealing
that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by
addressing 12 such lifestyle factors. Around 50 million people around the world
live with dementia, including about 850,000 people in the UK. By 2040, it has
been estimated there will be more than 1.2 million people living with dementia
in England and Wales. There is currently no cure. However, while some risk
factors for dementia cannot be changed, for example particular genes or
ethnicity, many are down to lifestyle. “Dementia is potentially preventable –
you can do things to reduce your risk of dementia, whatever stage of life you
are at,” said Gill Livingston, professor of psychiatry of older people at
University College London and a co-author of the report. She added such
lifestyle changes could reduce the chances of developing dementia in both those
with and without a high genetic risk for such conditions. The report from the
Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care builds on
previous work revealing that about a third of dementia cases could be prevented
by addressing nine lifestyle factors, including midlife hearing loss,
depression, less childhood education and smoking. Lifestyle changes could
prevent a third of dementia cases, report suggests Read more The research weighs
up the latest evidence, largely from high-income countries, supporting the
addition of a further three risk factors to the list. It suggests that 1% of
dementia cases worldwide are attributable to excessive mid-life alcohol intake,
3% to mid-life head injuries and 2% a result of exposure to air pollution in
older age – although they caution that the latter could be an underestimate.
Advertisement While some actions can be taken on a personal level to tackle such
issues, many require government-led change, Livingston said. The report includes
a list of nine recommendations, including improving air quality, and urges
policymakers to “be ambitious about prevention”. Artigo recomendado por nosso
neto Antônio A. Olivé Livingston praised Boris Johnson’s campaign to tackle the
nation’s waistlines and reduce Covid-19 deaths, as obesity and lack of exercise
are among the risk factors for dementia. “That may be helpful, particularly if
they are beginning to think about obesogenic environments and making it safe for
people to ride bikes,” she said. While Livingston said the 40% figure was
optimistic as the 12 risk factors are unlikely to be completely addressed, small
steps could make a difference. Research has suggested that the incidence of
dementia in Europe and North America has fallen by around 15% per decade for the
past 30 years – likely because of lifestyle changes such as a reduction in
smoking – even though the numbers of people with dementia are rising as people
live longer. The impact of lifestyle interventions, the team add, is likely to
be greatest among the most deprived individuals and in low- and middle-income
countries. “I don’t think it is any coincidence that the reductions in dementia
prevalence to date have been in high-income, highly educated people who have
more control over their environment,” said Livingston. “We are expecting by 2050
that two-thirds of people with dementia, if trajectories continue, will be in
low-income countries.” It is not clear whether all the risk factors are purely a
cause rather than an effect of dementia. The report notes: “Depression might be
a risk for dementia, but in later life dementia might cause depression.” Fiona
Carragher, director of research and influencing at Alzheimer’s Society, which
part-funded the work, called for a boost to dementia research, warning that
medical research charities are facing a 40% average fall in research funding
because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fiona Matthews, professor of epidemiology at
Newcastle University, who was not involved in the report, said the focus on
lifestyle did not mean people should feel they are to blame if they develop
dementia. “We can work at reducing our personal risk and society’s risk, but
still even then with these risk factors it only equates to less than 50% of all
dementia,” she said, adding that an increase in risk did not mean dementia was
certain to develop. Matthews said tackling lifestyle risk factors, personally
and as a society, remained important, adding that inequalities in population
health, as highlighted by Covid-19, should be targeted. “The crucial component
is that in the absence of treatments that delay or postpone dementia, reducing
everyone’s risk is the best method to slow the increasing numbers of people with
dementia that we would see due to population ageing,” she said. you.
