How you can prevent dementia with lifestyle changes including quitting smoking, exercising and finding friendship
Dementia is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. Researchers believe that one-third of cases could be prevented through better management of nine lifestyle factors over the course of a lifetime
Memory loss, personality changes, limited social skills, and impaired reasoning are just a handful of the symptoms associated with dementia. Used as a broad term to describe various neurological conditions which damage brain cells and lead to a loss of brain function, dementia currently affects more than 100,000 Hongkongers and is predicted to affect more than 300,000 in the next 15 to 20 years.
There are many types of dementia, according to Dr Jason Fong, a specialist in neurology at Matilda International Hospital on The Peak in Hong Kong. They include Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for about half of dementia cases and typically affects people over 65; vascular dementia, which is common in people who have had strokes; and mixed dementia, where more than one type of dementia occurs simultaneously in the brain. He adds that five per cent of dementia cases are due to genetic factors.
Reading books may add years to your life, but news articles don’t count (... sorry)
Contrary to popular belief, dementia is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. A major review, conducted by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention and Care that was published in July 2017, reported that one-third of dementia cases could be prevented through better management of nine lifestyle factors over the course of a lifetime.
These potentially modifiable risk factors include: low levels of education, mid-life hearing loss, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, smoking, depression, and social isolation.
