Khaberni - Prominent international experts have confirmed that millions of dementia cases can be prevented through simple lifestyle changes, revealing a comprehensive scientific “roadmap” aimed at limiting the disease, which is considered one of the biggest health challenges in the world.
In a new consensus report, which is the broadest of its kind, scientists have made 56 evidence-based recommendations to reduce the risk of dementia, including addressing hearing loss, managing high blood pressure, combating social isolation, improving public health messaging, addressing environmental stresses, and ensuring sustainable funding for prevention programs.
Reevaluation of dementia-related policies
According to the “Daily Mail,” the expert team called for an urgent reassessment of its dementia-related policies, warning that the absence of a coordinated national strategy will lead to the continued development of millions of preventable cases.
The lead researcher in the study from Queen Mary University in London, Dr. Harriet Deminents-King, said that the scientific evidence around dementia prevention has become clear, but it has not yet been translated into effective policies.
She added: “We know that the risk of developing dementia can be reduced, but this knowledge has not yet been translated into an integrated government strategy. People need clear, evidence-based guidelines to protect their brain health, but the current messages can be confusing or may imply blame,” she clarified that what is required today is a coordinated and structural action that takes into account the reality of people's lives, and establishes fair and feasible policies for dementia prevention.
14 modifiable factors
The report is based on the results of the 2024 Lancet Commission, which identified 14 modifiable factors that increase the risk of dementia and concluded that about half of Alzheimer’s cases could be prevented.
These factors include high cholesterol, untreated hearing and vision impairments, lack of physical activity, social isolation, and long-term exposure to air pollution.
Experts: Half of dementia cases can be prevented with simple changes
The findings were published in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology where researchers emphasized that in the absence of a cure or widely available effective treatments, prevention remains the most important means of addressing the growing burden of dementia.
Professor Charles Marshall, a contributor to the study, said urgent action has become a pressing necessity, especially since dementia has become the leading cause of death in the United Kingdom, and added: “We urgently need a clear public health plan to improve this reality, and the implementation of our recommendations will help as many people as possible reach old age without developing dementia.”
Prevention efforts are more effective
The report indicated that prevention efforts are more effective when health messages focus on risk factors that individuals can control, with strong evidence that changing these factors reduces the risk of the disease. The researchers considered that direct messages – such as “Losing weight may reduce the risk of dementia” – are more impactful than vague warnings or complex technical language.
The experts recommended using the term “dementia” in general rather than focusing on specific types like Alzheimer's, to improve public understanding, warning against banking on a future treatment that is not guaranteed, and the report stated: “We cannot afford to wait for trials that may not see the light of day.”
Social isolation and hearing impairment
The findings highlighted social isolation, high blood pressure, and hearing impairment as prominent prevention targets, calling for making hearing aids available to everyone, reducing harmful noise, and improving early detection and treatment of high cholesterol for those over forty.
The estimated number of people with dementia in the United Kingdom is currently about 900,000, with the number expected to rise to more than 1.6 million by 2040, while the disease causes more than 74,000 deaths annually. In the United States, about 6.7 million people over 65 live with dementia, and the number is expected to nearly double by 2060.
These warnings come at a time when dementia patients face a stark disparity in the level of care, with the health system failing to achieve early diagnosis targets in more than half of areas, amid criticism of declining research funding compared to other major diseases, despite dementia costing the British economy around 42 billion pounds sterling annually.
