What Can I Do To Prevent Living With Dementia?

Dementia is a growing health concern, with around 900,000 people currently living with dementia in the UK. As there is currently no cure for most types of dementia, prevention is key to reducing your risk. The good news is that up to 40% of instances of living with dementia may be preventable through lifestyle changes. By making healthy choices today, you can help lower your chance of developing dementia in the future. KYN, a specialist provider of dementia care across London, explores the risk factors for living with dementia and provides practical tips on what you can do to help prevent it.

Unchangeable Risk Factors

Several factors can increase a person's risk of eventually living with dementia. The main unchangeable risk factors include:

Age

Age is the biggest risk factor, with the majority of people living with dementia aged 65 and over. After this age, a person’s risk doubles roughly every 5 years. However, younger people can live with dementia too.

Genetics

Carrying certain genes can increase your risk, especially of living with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. However, in the vast majority of cases (more than 99 in 100), Alzheimer's disease is not inherited.

Down’s syndrome

People with Down’s syndrome have a higher chance of living with dementia, often in their 50s.

Gender

Women have a greater risk of living with dementia during their lifetime. In fact, around twice as many women live with Alzheimer's disease (the most common type of dementia), compared to men. The main reason for this greater risk is because women live longer than men and old age is the biggest risk factor for living with dementia.

Changeable Risk Factors

Luckily, research shows that up to 40% of those living with dementia may be attributable to changeable risk factors. This means making lifestyle changes could significantly reduce an individual's risk of living with dementia. Changeable risk factors for living with dementia include:

Cardiovascular health

Having conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol and diabetes can increase the risk of living with dementia - especially vascular dementia.

Hearing loss

Hearing loss in mid-life onwards is linked with higher rates of living with dementia later in life. Using hearing aids could reduce this risk.

Lack of physical activity

A lack of regular physical activity can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, becoming overweight or obese, and type 2 diabetes, which are all linked to a higher risk of living with dementia.

Smoking and alcohol

Long-term heavy smoking and drinking too much alcohol both heighten the possibility of living with dementia.

Traumatic brain injury

Suffering repeated traumatic brain injuries, e.g. through contact sports, seems to heighten the risk of living with dementia.

What Can You Do To Reduce Your Risk of Living With Dementia?

The good news is that it's never too late to make healthy lifestyle changes to help support lifelong brain health and potentially lower your risk of living with dementia. Here are practical tips:

• Get your health checked - Book your free NHS Health Check if you are aged 40-74. This will assess your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and living with dementia. You can then get advice and support to improve any issues found.
• Exercise regularly - Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, e.g. brisk walking, swimming or cycling. Exercise helps reduce the risk of living with dementia by keeping the brain and body healthy.
• Challenge your brain - Learn new skills, read books, play games and be socially active to help build cognitive reserve. People who do mentally stimulating activities may have a lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
• Manage health conditions - Effectively treating conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes can lower the risk of living with dementia. Follow your doctor’s advice.
• Quit smoking - Giving up smoking lowers your risk of dementia and improves health overall. Speak to your GP about stop smoking services.
• Drink alcohol in moderation - Stick within recommended guidelines: no more than 14 units spread out over 3 days for men and women. Less is better for the brain.
• Use hearing aids if needed - If you have hearing loss, using hearing aids ensures you stay socially connected, which benefits brain health.

In addition to the above, ensuring you get enough good quality sleep, manage stress levels and stay socially connected are also great ways to support lifelong brain health.

Discover Dementia Care with KYN

While some risk factors for dementia, such as age and genetics, cannot be changed, some instances of living with dementia may be preventable through lifestyle changes. If you or a loved one is living with dementia, KYN provides specialist residential, nursing, and respite care for individuals across London. Our beautiful residences offer relaxing, homely environments tailored to those living with dementia. With round-the-clock support from our qualified team, we aim to enrich the lives of all individuals living with dementia who choose KYN. To learn more, call KYN on +44 (0) 20 3535 1923 or email enquiries@kyn.co.uk today to arrange a brochure or visit.