A new scientific study shows that the risk of developing dementia is higher than previously thought: after the age of 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia if they live long enough , informs AP News.
However, researchers say there are steps people can take to reduce this risk, such as controlling high blood pressure and other brain-damaging health problems. These measures can be adopted even in middle age, they report.
“All of our research suggests that what you do in midlife matters a lot,” said Josef Coresh of NYU Langone Health, co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Dementia is not a normal part of aging
Having trouble remembering a name or where you put your keys is typical of old age. However, dementia is not a normal part of aging, but is characterized by a progressive loss of memory, language and other cognitive functions.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form, and the silent brain changes that eventually lead to it can begin two decades before symptoms appear.
There are certain risk factors that people cannot control, including age and inheriting a genetic variant called APOE4, which increases the chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. However, people can try to avoid or at least delay the health problems that contribute to dementia.
“What’s good for the heart is good for the brain,” says James Galvin, an Alzheimer’s specialist at the University of Miami. He urges people to exercise, avoid obesity and control blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.
Source: www.descopera.ro
