Concerned about Alzheimer's?

The above measures can be the best preventive steps against the development of degenerative Alzheimer's disease, which affects one in 14 people aged 65 and older.

Staying mentally and physically fit can dramatically reduce the incidence of dementia, which is becoming a significant social and financial burden globally. Physical and mental exercises are most important because they influence others by maintaining lower weight and blood pressure, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes and depression.

Pecople who can do all of this and avoid smoking substantially reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's. Worldwide, approximately 33.9 million people have the disease, and this number is expected to triple in the next 40 years.

In the UK, an estimated 500,000 people are affected. One in six people over 80 are expected to succumb to the disease, which will affect their dignity and personality.

A review of research presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Paris and published in The Lancet medical journal concluded that half of Alzheimer's cases worldwide are potentially attributable to seven avoidable risk factors. Of these, low education and lack of mental stimulation in old age are considered the most significant.

Deborah Barnes and Kristine Yaffe, from the University of California San Francisco, who authored the commentary, state that education and lifelong mental stimulation are factors in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's and dementia, “by helping build cognitive reserve that allows individuals to continue functioning at a normal level despite neurodegenerative changes.”

Post-mortem examinations have shown that people who were mentally active throughout their lives, without any signs of Alzheimer's disease symptoms, had the same brain degeneration as those who suffered severe dementia while alive. The conclusion is that despite this neuro-degeneration, mentally active people manage to avoid the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Overall, researchers estimate that the seven factors could contribute to more than 17 million cases of Alzheimer's worldwide. A 25 percent reduction in all seven risk factors could prevent up to three million cases.

In a report on the study, Laura Fratiglioni, from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, said that none of the seven factors were proven to cause Alzheimer's, but that “the accumulated evidence from epidemiological research strongly supports a role for lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors.” Large-scale trials to change these risk factors in high-risk populations, as has been done for heart disease, should now be implemented.

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