When it comes to Alzheimer’s and other dementias, one thing that everyone wants to know is: How do I prevent them?

There is no simple answer to that, as there is no single cause linked to dementia.

Nevertheless, there are risk factors that may increase your chances of developing the condition, so you can reduce your risk by managing these factors.

Keeping the brain active

There is a lot of information floating around online about how mentally stimulating activities like doing Sudoku or learning a musical instrument can prevent Alzheimer’s.

However, there is not enough clear evidence to identify specific activities that can ward off cognitive decline.

A recent study in the British Medical Journal has found that doing puzzles and other intellectually engaging activities does not prevent cognitive decline in themselves. However, what they suggest is that doing such activities over a lifetime improves your IQ, so that when the inevitable cognitive decline sets in later in life, you have a higher point to start from.

But don’t discount the value of keeping the brain youthful and active. Being socially active and learning new skills are still important, as they maintain social connections and help you to feel fulfilled.

Babysitting grandchildren

Some good news for parents looking for babysitters: get grandparents to take care of their grandchildren. It not only gives you a breather, but could potentially protect the elderly folk from dementia as well.

Researchers for the Women's Health Aging Project in Australia looked at the role of grandparenting in postmenopausal women's cognitive health.

Grandmothers who helped with childcare one day a week scored highest on the cognitive tests.

But beware of overdoing the babysitting: minding grandchildren for five days or more per week predicts lower working memory performance and processing speed.

What’s good for the heart is good for the brain

The factors that increase risk of cardiovascular disease are the same ones that increase the risk of dementia.

So practise a heart-healthy lifestyle, which includes the following:

Don’t smoke
Exercise regularly
Maintain a healthy weight
Maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Cut down on alcohol
Eat a healthy, balanced diet

Other diseases

There are some medical conditions that may increase the risk of dementia:

Parkinson’s disease
Stroke
Type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure
Depression
Down’s syndrome
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – early memory and thinking problems considered worse than those associated with normal ageing

Risk factors you can’t change

Unfortunately, there are risk factors that you can’t change, such as age and genetics. Age is actually the biggest risk factor for dementia — meaning that the older you are, the more likely you are to develop it.

If you have a parent or grandparent with Alzheimer’s, there is also a higher risk of developing it.

All these factors come together in a complex interplay, making the risk of dementia different from one individual to another.

Until we know more, the best we can do is to recognise the signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia so that we can detect and treat them as early as possible.

Listen to the podcast 'Alzheimer's & Dementia':

About Us

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

FAQ

Contact Us

Careers

Advertise

Download The App

Car Sticker

Community

Copyright © BFM Media Sdn Bhd (200601017962)