Dementia risk factors
Family history
Close relatives of a person with dementia may be worried that they will be more likely to develop the condition. While people with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease are generally considered to be at greater risk of developing the disease, a risk cannot be determined on family history alone. In fact, many people with a family history of Alzheimer’s never develop the disease.
If people are trying to protect themselves against Alzheimer’s disease, looking after the body is probably more helpful than looking after the brain.
Professor Clive Ballard, Director of Research at the Alzheimer’s Society talking on BBC video, Top tips to cheat dementia
Dementia-causing diseases that may be hereditary include Huntingdon’s disease and Niemann-Pick Type C disease. Scientists have discovered that some genes can affect the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. One – apolipoprotein E – plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.
Medical history
Medical conditions – particularly multiple sclerosis, HIV, Down’s syndrome and Huntingdon’s disease – can increase the risk of developing dementia. Heart and high blood pressure problems or a stroke can heighten the risk of developing vascular dementia. Diabetes, obesity and severe head injuries can also increase the chances of developing dementia in later life.
Lifestyle choices
We all have a wide range of choices about how we live our lives. Those choices can affect our general health and wellbeing. While there is no conclusive evidence that we can prevent the development of dementia, there is a general acknowledgement that there are some areas where poor lifestyle choices may increase the risk of developing dementia (that is, a poor diet, smoking, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, lack of exercise, and not keeping your brain active and stimulated through maintaining hobbies, interests and social interaction).
What can care workers do?
Care workers can play a positive role in helping to reduce the risk by encouraging the people they support to do a range of things.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet: You can suggest healthy options when supporting people in shopping or when preparing meals. Try to make food as appealing as possible and don’t overload the plate. Variety and providing food on a ‘little and often’ basis is usually better. Helping the person to have regular drinks is very important too – soups, smoothies, jellies and other liquid foods are all good as well as standard drinks. For more on this, see the section on ‘Eating well’.
Give up smoking: This can be hard, particularly if the person has been smoking for a long time. As a care worker, you can encourage and support the person by providing leaflets and information (available from most medical centres or pharmacists) and by checking whether there are any local support services to help people stop smoking.
Reduce alcohol consumption: Care workers can play a role in encouraging people to drink sensibly and avoid over-consumption of alcohol. Alcohol is a mind-altering substance that can affect people’s ability to carry out everyday tasks. Brain cells can be damaged by alcohol, making this a risk factor for dementia.
Exercise regularly: Care workers can encourage exercise in a number of ways, for example by taking a person out for walks, helping them in the garden or encouraging them to keep active in the house by carrying out regular household jobs.
Maintain hobbies and social activities: Care workers can play an active role in encouraging people to continue hobbies (such as gardening, reading, walking) and social activities (for example, accompanying them on shopping trips and in attending local clubs and events). Within the home, care workers can encourage people to help with preparing meals (and preparing a table for meals) and by stimulating conversation. Maintaining hobbies and pastimes and daily life skills can help prevent isolation.
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- What the research says: Early signs and diagnosis
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Further reading Open
Alzheimer's Society (2012) 'Am I at risk of developing dementia?', Factsheet 450. London: Alzheimer’s Society.
Alzheimer's Society (2012) 'Genetics of dementia', Factsheet 405. London: Alzheimer's Society.
Alzheimer's Society (2012) 'Younger people with dementia', Factsheet 440. London: Alzheimer's Society.
Alzheimer's Society website 'Statistics', online information.
BBC website 'Your guide to reducing the risk of dementia'.
McCullagh, C.D., Craig, D., McIlroy, S.P. and Passmore, A.P. (2001) 'Risk factors for dementia', Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol 7, pp 24–31.
NHS Choices website 'Can dementia be prevented?', online information.
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Useful links Open
Alzheimer’s Society
The Alzheimer’s Society produces over 80 factsheets on all sorts of topics related to dementia, including many that relate to early signs and diagnosis, including Risk factors for dementia (450), Assessment and diagnosis (426), After a diagnosis (471), and The progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias (458).healthtalk
The healthtalk website contains stories from 31 carers of people with dementia, some presented in videos, some in audio recordings. The stories cover a wide range of areas, including recognising the early signs of dementia and getting the diagnosis.NHS Choices
NHS Choices describes itself as the ‘online front door to the NHS’. It is the UK’s biggest health website and includes an A–Z of health conditions, including dementia, as well as explaining about treatments and how the health system works. The Dementia Guide on this site includes a section on Getting a dementia diagnosis, Benefits of early dementia diagnosis, and What to do if you’ve just been diagnosed with dementia.Unlocking diagnosis: The key to improving the lives of people with dementia.
This All-Party Parliamentary Group of Dementia publication reports on the APPG’s 2012 inquiry into differing diagnosis rates – and the barriers for lifting these – around the UK.World Alzheimer Report 2011: The benefits of early diagnosis and intervention
The Alzheimer’s Disease International 2011 report investigated the benefits and disadvantages of early diagnosis and intervention for people with dementia, the implications of early diagnosis for health and social care costs, and best practice in early intervention around the world. -
Related pages from this section Open