Dementia is NOT inevitable: World Health Organization says exercising, eating healthy, quitting smok

People should exercise more, eat a healthy diet and cut down on alcohol to reduce their risk of dementia, the World Health Organization said today.

In its advice for people trying to avoid the brain disorder, the UN health bosses said diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity should also be controlled.

A huge review of existing evidence found age was the strongest risk factor for the memory-robbing condition - but said it is not an inevitable consequence of ageing.

There are already more than 50million people around the world with dementia and this figure is expected to triple to 152million by the year 2050.

Although it can't be cured or prevented with any certainty, people who take good care of themselves may have lower odds of getting it – it is not inevitable, the report said. 

Scientists have reacted by calling for more work on medicines to treat dementia and said the report clarifies what they already knew.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7026963/Exercise-eat-healthy-diet-stop-smoking-slash-risk-deadly-dementia.html#i-3e00cbc5108ef0e9
 

The WHO Guidelines on Risk Reduction of Cognitive Decline and Dementia were published today by the international health experts.

'While age is the strongest known risk factor for cognitive decline, dementia is not a natural or inevitable consequence of ageing,' the report said in its introduction.

And its authors added: 'Several recent studies have shown a relationship between the development of cognitive impairment and dementia with lifestyle-related risk factors, such as physical inactivity, tobacco use, unhealthy diets and harmful use of alcohol.'

Although the quality of scientific evidence to back up many of the WHO's recommendations was low, most were recommended to improve general health.

A Mediterranean diet, which it suggested as the ultimate healthy eating, contains a lot of fruit and vegetables, nuts, lentils, beans and potatoes or rice. 

The WHO stopped short of saying dementia risk could be reduced by better social interactions, hearing aids for those going deaf or the treatment of depression.

 

It added at-risk patients could be given brain training activities but there was no science to support taking vitamin B, E or Omega-3 supplements for brain health. 

According to the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, only one in three people (34 per cent) in the country – where around 850,000 people have dementia – realise they can do anything to reduce their risk of the brain damage.

Dr Carol Routledge, the charity's director of research, called the WHO report a 'valuable resource' which contains 'the best possible information'.

 

'Sadly, there will always be individuals who address many or all of these risk factors and still develop dementia,' Dr Routledge said.

'Genetic predisposition plays an important role in many people’s risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s, and while we cannot change the genes we inherit, taking the steps outlined in this report can still help to stack the odds in our favour.'

Dementia is not a single illness but an umbrella term to describe a diseased decline of the brain, which leads to physical disability and mental disability.

It is incurable and eventually kills people who develop it, most of whom are elderly. Alzheimer's disease causes around two thirds of dementia cases.

Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, Professor Bart De Strooper, said: 'Little hard evidence is available that modifying environmental factors modify the risk for dementia strongly.

'What is clear however is that the major risk for a dementing disorder like Alzheimer’s disease is the genetic predisposition of the patient which is the main focus of the Dementia Research Institute.

'We need urgently medications to control these pathologies.'

Dr Fiona Carragher, a chief research officer at the Alzheimer's Society, said an estimated third of all dementia cases could be prevented.

She called it the 'biggest health challenge of our generation', welcomed the report and said the charity is currently funding the UK's largest study into risk factors.

Professor Tara Spires-Jones, deputy director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, said the guidelines were important because there is no way for doctors to prevent dementia.

She said: 'The WHO has... made recommendations that some lifestyle changes, in particular increasing exercise before any cognitive symptoms are present, can reduce dementia risk.

'Other recommendations have a less strong evidence base but may have evidence that they do not increase risk or harm, and can therefore be recommended safely, although their impact on risk is less certain.

'While some people are unlucky and inherit a combination of genes that makes it highly likely they will develop dementia, many people have the opportunity to substantially reduce their risk by living a healthy lifestyle.

'If people around the world follow these recommendations, we should be able to reduce the burden of dementias.' 

Professor Tom Dening, director of the Centre for Old Age and Dementia at the University of Nottingham, said it was good the WHO denounced supplements.   

'The negative recommendation, advocating that people do not use vitamin or dietary supplements (unless they are needed for a clinical problem) is welcome,' he said.

'It is to be hoped that it saves lots of people from wasting their money.' 

Professor Robert Howard, an old age psychiatry expert at University College London added: 'Keep on doing the things that we know benefit overall physical and mental health (smoking cessation, reduce harmful alcohol drinking, treat hypertension, eat a healthy balanced diet and lose weight if you are obese), but understand that the evidence that these steps will reduce dementia risk is not strong. 

'Like many colleagues, I already tell my patients that what is good for their hearts is probably good for their brains.'