Want to avoid dementia? Scientists name THREE most effective things you can do ... trends now
Drink less alcohol, avoid traffic pollution and reduce your odds of type 2 diabetes.
Scientists say they are the three most effective things you can do to cut your chances of developing dementia.
Researchers have previously identified a 'weak spot' in the brain that begins to degenerate earlier than its surrounding areas as we get older.
Now, a new study has confirmed what modifiable risk factors – things that people can do something about – appear to have the most effect on this vulnerable brain region.
A team examined 161 risk factors for dementia and ranked them according to their impacts on this brain network.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to alcohol, diabetes and traffic-related air pollution
They did this by analysing the brain scans of 40,000 people in the UK aged over 45.
The University of Oxford scientists classed these modifiable risk factors – which can potentially be changed throughout life to reduce the risk of dementia – into 15 broad categories.
These were blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialisation, diet, physical activity, and education.
The findings suggest that the 'weak spot' in the brain is most vulnerable to alcohol, diabetes and traffic-related air pollution.
Professor Gwenaelle Douaud, who led the study, said: 'We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in ageing, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution – increasingly a major player in dementia – and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.
'We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.'
The study analysed the unique contribution of each controllable risk factor by looking at all of them together to assess the resulting degeneration of this particular brain weak spot.
