[LifeStyle] Identify the 10 highest risk factors to prevent and treat Alzheimer's

[#Steeven.™]

Research mentions cognitive activity, depression, diabetes, and having high blood pressure

There are at least 10 risk factors that appear to have a significant impact on a person's likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, which could be subject to preventive measures, suggests research published in the 'Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry'. .

Focusing on these factors, including cognitive activity, a high end-of-life body mass index, depression, diabetes, and high blood pressure, could provide clinicians with evidence-based guidance for preventing Alzheimer's disease. But much more research is needed to come with other promising approaches to preventing the condition.

Experts predict an increase in the number of cases as the po[CENSORED]tion ages, but recent research has suggested that the number of cases appears to be declining, possibly due to lifestyle changes, better education, and risk reduction strategies. to prevent or delay dementia.

The existing evidence on the prevention of Alzheimer's disease is difficult to interpret due to the different study designs with different evaluation and credibility criteria.

So an international team of researchers led by Professor Jin-Tai Yu at Fudan University in China set out to review and analyze the current evidence to produce evidence-based suggestions for preventing Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers pooled 395 studies (243 observational prospective studies and 152 randomized controlled trials) that were suitable for analysis. Based on their analysis, they proposed 21 suggestions based on the available consolidated evidence that clinicians could use in practice to try to prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Within these, there were what they called 'Class I' suggestions to focus on 19 different factors. Nearly two-thirds of these suggestions would involve targeting vascular risk factors (such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels) and lifestyle, strengthening the importance of staying healthy to prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Ten of the suggestions were supported by strong evidence and included receiving the best education possible in early life, engaging in mentally stimulating activities such as reading, avoiding diabetes, stress, depression, head trauma, and high blood pressure. in middle age.

Nine other suggestions had slightly weaker evidence to support them, and included regular physical exercise, sufficient quality sleep, maintaining a healthy body weight and good heart health in adulthood, avoiding smoking, and including vitamin C in the diet.

In contrast, two interventions were not recommended: estrogen replacement therapy and the use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (drugs that increase communication between nerve cells).

The authors point out some limitations of the study, such as the fact that observational studies cannot indicate a clear causal relationship and randomized controlled trials cannot generalize beyond the specific sample, intervention, dose, and duration studied.

In addition, the values of your suggestions may be limited by geographic variability, definition of exposure, and prevalence of risk factors at the po[CENSORED]tion level.

However, the authors say this is the most comprehensive and large-scale systematic review and meta-analysis for Alzheimer's disease to date, and the evidence-based suggestions were brought together by integrating a large body of evidence from different types of existing research.

"This study provides an advanced and contemporary analysis of the evidence, suggesting that high-quality prospective observational studies and randomized controlled trials are most urgently needed to strengthen the evidence base to uncover more promising approaches to preventing Alzheimer's disease." they conclude.