Managing BP, Diabetes And Obesity Can Cut Dementia Risk By 60%: Experts

By IND Today News Desk Last updated Sep 21, 2024

Managing BP, Diabetes And Obesity Can Cut Dementia Risk By 60%: Experts

Delhi/Hyderabad, Sept 21 (Maxim News): Blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity are preventable risk factors that can help reduce the chances or reverse the odds of dementia by 60 percent, said experts on World Alzheimer’s Day on Saturday.

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World Alzheimer’s Day is commemorated every year on September 21 to raise awareness about the stigma associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and to increase public understanding of these disorders.

The theme this year is “Time to act on dementia. Time to act on Alzheimer’s. disease, a debilitating, cognitive and neurological disorder, gradually erodes a person’s memory, language skills, thinking skills, and ability to perform even the simplest tasks. It primarily affects individuals over the age of 65 and is the leading cause of dementia in older adults.

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It is one of the most common causes of dementia or memory loss. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in India is growing steadily while it may not be alarming. The disease is affecting the elderly more, but it is also showing signs of increase in the younger population.

“The time to act on dementia is to work on the preventable risk factors of dementia. And if we work on the preventable risk factors of dementia, we can reduce or reverse dementia by 60 percent“, Dr. Manjari Tripathi, head of the neurology department, at AIIMS.

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“Controlling blood pressure, diabetes, not smoking or drinking alcohol, and reducing body weight or obesity levels. There should also be no insomnia. Take treatment for insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea, because sleep, if impaired, can impair memory,” Tripathi said.

In addition, leading an unhealthy lifestyle which is sedentary, with no exercise or not learning any new skill in old age, being passive, just sitting on a chair, or staying more on the couch may also harm cognitive functions.

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Research, published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia, revealed that 7.4 percent of people aged 60 and older live with dementia in India, amounting to roughly 8.8 million individuals. The study was done using nationally representative data collected in India from 2017 to 2020.

Strikingly, dementia prevalence was found to be higher among females (9 percent) compared to males (5.8 percent), particularly in rural areas. The research highlights that the number of Indians with dementia could rise to 16.9 million by 2036 if current trends continue.

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“Women have a much higher lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s than men. This could be due to a mix of biological, genetic, and lifestyle factors,” Dr. Arindam Ghosh, Consultant, Neurologist, Narayana Health, Kolkata, (Maxim News)