Brain health is so important. In addition to dementia, problems like brain fog, depression, and other issues are related to the brain. This was a study published in JAMA Neurology.
Study:
- 350,000 participants under the age of 65 in the UK
- They looked at young onset dementia, defined as “impairments in memory, thinking, problem solving, and decision making that interfere with daily life.”
- “Early onset” is defined as below the age of 65
- They looked at 39 potential risk factors. 15 were found to be significant.
- SOCIAL ISOLATION (seeing friends or family once a month or less)
- LOWER FORMAL EDUCATION
- LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
- CARRYING TWO COPIES OF THE APOE GENE
- VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY (important for immune function and brain health, they call it a “neurosteroid”)
- HEARING IMPAIRMENT
- ALCOHOL USE DISORDER
- NO ALCOHOL USE (ABSTINENCE)
- DEPRESSION
- HIGH C REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVELS (a sign of inflammation, this was a new risk factor identified and was significantly higher in women)
- LOWER HANDGRIP STRENGTH (physical frailty)
- ORTHOSTATIC HYPOTENSION (a form of low blood pressure where when you stand, the blood rushes into your feet. It is thought this deprives the brain of oxygen.)
- STROKE
- DIABETES
- HEART DISEASE
- They discuss that the aforementioned factors also correlate with late onset dementia.
