Loneliness, vitamin D deficiency, low socioeconomic status, and alcohol abuse disorder are just a few of the health and lifestyle factors associated with an increased risk of early- or young-onset dementia, according to a groundbreaking new study.
Dementia affects a growing number of people globally. For the first time, researchers have identified 15 key risk factors, from gene variations to social conditions and environmental influences, that significantly raise a person’s chance of developing young-onset dementia.
The findings, published in JAMA Neurology, challenge previous notions about the causes of the condition and lay the groundwork for new prevention strategies, the study authors wrote.
Researchers at University of Exeter and Maastricht University followed more than 350,000 participants under the age of 65 from across the United Kingdom in the UK Biobank (a large biomedical database) to understand the risks of early dementia.
“This is the biggest, most robust and wide-ranging study of its kind,” David Llewellyn, Ph.D., study co-author and professor of clinical epidemiology and digital health at the University of Exeter, tells TODAY.com.
“The most important finding was that a wide range of modifiable risk factors appear to be important, not just genetics,” says Llewellyn.
What is young-onset dementia?
Dementia is a term used to describe impairments in memory, thinking, problem-solving and decision-making that interfere with daily life, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, with more than 6 million people living with the condition in the U.S., according to the Alzheimer’s Association. While Alzheimer’s is most prevalent in people over 65, about 5% of patients develop symptoms before 65, aka young-onset dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Certain risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s after age 65 are well-established. Some are qualities a person can’t…
Read the full article here
