Research raises hope for dementia prevention pathway
LONDON: Health and lifestyle factors including vitamin D deficiency, depression and suffering a stroke increase the risk of early onset dementia, a study suggests.
Researchers found a wide range of risk factors for those suffering the symptoms of dementia before the age of 65, raising the prospect that prevention strategies can reduce the number of sufferers.
A large-scale study by teams in the UK and the Netherlands found that genes can significantly increase the risk of young-onset dementia, but so too can a range of lifestyle and environmental factors, including lower formal education and alcohol abuse.
More than 70,800 people in the UK have early-onset dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, equating to about 8 per cent of all dementia sufferers. The findings challenge the notion that genetics are the sole cause of the condition and pave the way for new prevention strategies.
