A Study Has Revealed The Biggest Risk Factors For Getting Early Dementia, And Knowledge Is Power

 19 years on from my stroke at age 50 and still no signs of dementia.

A Study Has Revealed The Biggest Risk Factors For Getting Early Dementia, And Knowledge Is Power

A recent study by the University of Exeter and Maastricht University published in JAMA Neurology has identified some of the factors that can lead to early cases of dementia ― some of which may surprise you.

The data analyzed the behaviors of over 350,000 participants younger than 65 across the United Kingdom to evaluate young-onset dementia, which occurs before age 65. The researchers found there are 15 common issues that can contribute to the early development of the condition. A few have to do with genetics and other elements outside our control, but many others are modifiable.

The study is meaningful to experts because it “looks at young-onset dementia risk factors in a way that has only been done in late-onset dementias previously,” according to Dr. Kevin Bickart, an assistant professor in neurology at the University of California Los Angeles Health’s David Geffen School of Medicine. The study features “a very large sample that was prospectively followed from healthy baseline to a dementia diagnosis with lots of data collection.”

Here’s what to know:

The biggest risk factors for young-onset dementia:

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The large-scale study looked at 39 possible risk factors and determined that 15 of them made the biggest difference when it came to developing dementia before the age of 65. Those include:

1. Social isolation(Getting divorced solved that problem)

2. Lower formal education(2 bachelor's degrees, missed getting a master's by two classes, wasn't worth continuing)

3. Lower socioeconomic status(Solidly middle to upper middle class)

4. Carrying two copies of the APOE gene (a marker that influences Alzheimer’s risk)(No clue)

5. Vitamin D deficiency(How would I know?)

6. Hearing impairment(None)

7. Alcohol use disorder(Using alcohol to vastly increase my social connections and thus prevent dementia! Your doctor won't approve. That's why I don't listen to most doctors.)

8. No alcohol use (abstinence)(In social situations)

9. Depression(Never been depressed a day in my life.)

10. High C-reactive protein levels(How would I know?)

11. Lower handgrip strength (physical frailty)(Left hand pretty poor, right hand quite strong.)

12. Orthostatic hypotension (a form of low blood pressure)(Nope, high blood pressure, controlled by medications.)

13. Stroke(Yep, age 50, 19 years ago.)

14. Diabetes(No)

15. Heart disease(No)