New Delhi: Blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity are preventable risk factors that can help reduce or reduce the likelihood of dementia by 60%, according to scientists on World Alzheimer’s Day on Saturday.
Every year on September 21, World Alzheimer’s Day is observed to raise awareness about the prejudice associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as to improve public knowledge of these conditions.
This year’s theme is “Time to act on dementia, Time to act on Alzheimer’s”.
Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating cognitive and neurological ailment that gradually erodes a person’s memory, language abilities, thinking skills, and ability to execute even basic tasks.
It primarily affects those over the age of 65 and is the most common cause of dementia in older adults.
It is one of the leading causes of dementia and memory loss. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in India is continuously increasing, yet it is not alarming. The disease primarily affects the elderly. However, there is evidence of an increase in the younger population.
“The time to act on dementia is to work on the preventable risk factors of dementia. And if we work on the preventable risk factors of dementia, we can reduce or reverse dementia by 60 per cent,” Dr Manjari Tripathi, head of the neurology department, at AIIMS, told IANS.
So, what are these preventable risk factors?
“Controlling blood pressure, diabetes, not smoking or drinking alcohol, and reducing body weight or obesity levels. There should also be no insomnia. Take treatment for insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea, because sleep, if impaired, can impair memory,” Tripathi said.
In addition, leading an unhealthy lifestyle that is sedentary, with no exercise, not learning any new skill in old age, being passive, just sitting on the chair, or staying more on the couch may also harm cognitive functions.
Research published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia revealed that 7.4 per cent of people aged 60 and older live with dementia in India, amounting to roughly 8.8 million individuals. The study used nationally representative data collected in India from 2017 to 2020.
Strikingly, dementia prevalence was found to be higher among females (9 percent) compared to males (5.8 percent), particularly in rural areas.
The research highlights that the number of Indians with dementia could rise to 16.9 million by 2036 if current trends continue.
“Women have a much higher lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s than men. This could be due to a mix of biological, genetic, and lifestyle factors,” said Dr Arindam Ghosh, Consultant – Neurologist, Narayana Health, Kolkata.
“In India, where women’s life expectancy is longer, we see a notable gender disparity in Alzheimer’s cases,” Ghosh added.
The experts stressed the need for boosting awareness about the condition which can help in early diagnosis.
Tripathi explained that Alzheimer’s has three stages — early, middle, and late. Therapy is begun in the early stage to prevent the disease from progressing at a fast rate.
“It is essential that all people are brought in early when the early symptoms start, after which tests can be done to make the diagnosis,” the neurologist said.
Early symptoms include memory loss that disrupts daily life, poor judgement, losing track of dates or knowing the current location, repeating questions, or forgetting recently learned information.
“The diagnosis is made carefully by taking clinical history from the caregiver, and other neuropsychological tests, like MRI brain, blood tests like Vitamin B12, thyroid, Vitamin D. There are also biomarker tests, after which we do a PET brain test, and then diagnosis can be achieved,” elaborated Tripathi.
The expert suggested people start actively making a healthy lifestyle, with proper diet and aerobic exercises, especially after age 35.
Besides a healthy lifestyle, she suggested people indulge in cognitive tasks like puzzles, sudoku, art, music, pet therapy, learning a new dance, learning a new language, and learning new skills — basically to have a purpose in life.
“If you can act on all these, then we can prevent dementia. That is why it is time to act on dementia. All these actions need to start by the age of 35 gradually,” Tripathi said.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
Photo (free) is for Representation purpose
