Millions of people globally live with dementia, a progressive neurodegenerative condition where one loses cognitive functioning- namely the loss of memory, thinking and reasoning skills. For people with dementia, the cognitive decline is so severe that it interferes with their daily life and activities.
Recently, researchers developed a dementia risk score consisting of 11 risk factors that can predict up to 80% of dementia cases 14 years before onset. They called it the UK Biobank Dementia Risk Score (UKBDRS).
For the study, the researchers examined healthcare data from the UK Biobank from 220,762 individuals with an average age of 60 years old. The researchers followed the participants for 14 years and compiled a list of 28 risk and protective factors linked to dementia. After analyzing 80% of the UK Biobank-derived healthcare data in light of these factors, they identified 11 of them that strongly predicted dementia risk.
These 11 risk factors are:
- age
- education level
- parental history of dementia
- material deprivation or poverty
- history of diabetes
- stroke
- depression
- hypertension (high blood pressure)
- high cholesterol
- living alone
- being male
The researchers conclude that UK Biobank Dementia Risk Score (UKBDRS) may be useful for initial screening. It is also beneficial in helping individuals and healthcare practitioners target and modify health behaviours before dementia actually happens. Those who are high-risk individuals can get additional screening such as genetic screening or cognitive screening.
Click here to read more on how to delay memory loss and cognitive aging.
Dr. Ardyce Yik ND 