{"id":471895,"date":"2026-05-06T21:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/471895\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:39:14","slug":"is-your-lifestyle-increasing-your-risk-of-alzheimers-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/471895\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your lifestyle increasing your risk of Alzheimer\u2019s? \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A groundbreaking tool which involves a finger-prick blood test and an online brain assessment has been created to estimate an individual\u2019s risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease, according to new research.<\/p>\n

The study, published in Nature Communications journal, involved 174 participants who carried out the self-administered test at home and posted their samples back to the research teams.<\/p>\n

The finger-prick blood test measured biomarkers, p-tau217 and GFAP, which have been associated with Alzheimer\u2019s disease and general brain decline.<\/p>\n

Participants also completed online cognitive assessments.<\/p>\n

\"Ford<\/a>\"Lotus<\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers found that combining the blood test with online brain tests can help identify a person\u2019s likelihood of developing Alzheimer\u2019s and then prioritise them for further testing, treatment and support.<\/p>\n

Although dementia is often a difficult topic to discuss, understanding risk factors can help people make informed choices to potentially reduce their chances of developing the condition.<\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

We spoke to Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer\u2019s Society<\/a>, who outlined some key dementia risk factors everyone should know, and highlighted what lifestyle changes can help.<\/p>\n

What are some risk factors that we can\u2019t change?<\/b><\/p>\n

Age<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cAge is one of the biggest risk factors associated with Alzheimer\u2019s because the chance of developing dementia increases as we age,\u201d explains Oakley.<\/p>\n

Above the age of 65, a person\u2019s risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s doubles about every five years, according to\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s Society\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Part of this is due to natural changes in our body.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that we know leads to dementia is the build up of certain proteins, such as amyloid and tau, in our brains. Over time they aggregate together into these insoluble masses and start causing damage in our brains,\u201d explains Oakley.<\/p>\n

Sex<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cThe data shows us that women are more likely to get Alzheimer\u2019s disease as they get older than men,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

According to Alzheimer\u2019s Society, there are about twice as many women over 65 with Alzheimer\u2019s as there are men over 65 with the condition.<\/p>\n

However, Oakley says the reasons behind this are currently unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are different theories around hormones and menopause that are being investigated, and lots of research is trying to work out exactly why this is so we can hopefully make changes to stop this,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

Genes<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are genetic risk factors and certain mutations that people can have that can be passed down through families that can make you more predisposed to developing different forms of dementia such Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

Out of 10,00 people who have Alzheimer\u2019s, less than 10 of those people will have it because of a familial gene, according to Alzheimer\u2019s Society\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

There are also certain risk genes that increases a person\u2019s chances of developing Alzheimer\u2019s, such as the APOE gene.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get two copies of APOE4 gene, a copy from your mum and another one from your dad, that significantly increases your chances of Alzheimer\u2019s,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it\u2019s important to emphasise that the APOE gene only increases a person\u2019s chances of getting dementia and doesn\u2019t cause the condition in everyone who has it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain health conditions<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we know with Alzheimer\u2019s disease is that it can become vascular, which happens when the damage in your brain is not only caused by certain proteins, but is also caused by a restriction of blood flow in and out of your brain,\u201d explains Oakley.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and conditions that affect your blood flow and metabolism such as diabetes, strokes and cardiovascular disease can all increase your risk of Alzheimer\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are there any\u00a0lifestyle factors that can increase our risk of dementia?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2024 Lancet Commission report<\/a> on dementia prevention, intervention, and care showed that about 45% of all dementia cases are based on modifiable risk factors, rather than things like ageing and genes that we can\u2019t change,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

The report found that addressing the following 14 health and lifestyle factors<\/a> could prevent nearly half of global dementia cases:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Quality of education in early life (5%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Social isolation (5%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Air pollution (3%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Traumatic brain injury (3%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Hearing loss (7%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Depression (3%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 High blood pressure (2%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Type 2 diabetes (2%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Obesity (1%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Physical inactivity (2%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Smoking (2%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Excessive alcohol consumption (1%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Uncorrected vision loss (2%)<\/p>\n

\u2013 High cholesterol (7%)<\/p>\n

What lifestyle changes can we make to reduce our risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease?<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can reduce your individual risk by doing things like quitting smoking, drinking alcohol only in moderation, having a healthy balanced diet, keeping a healthy weight and staying active,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

In addition, if you can keep your cardiovascular health under control, that can reduce your risk of developing dementia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often say what\u2019s good for your heart is good for your head, so controlling your cholesterol, and monitoring your blood pressure can make a big difference,\u201d says Oakley.<\/p>\n

Staying connected is also important.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would encourage people to carry on picking up hobbies and engaging with people,\u201d advises Oakley.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also need to look out for our older loved ones and support them where we can to engage in hobbies and social interactions, because it does play a really important role, not only in general enjoyment, but also in reducing their risk of developing dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A groundbreaking tool which involves a finger-prick blood test and an online brain assessment has been created to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[5194,17894,49281,868,18,135,107454,7114,19,17,41053,3027,1294],"class_list":{"0":"post-471895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-alzheimers","9":"tag-alzheimers-society","10":"tag-alzheimers-risk","11":"tag-dementia","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-health-and-wellbeing","15":"tag-health-lifestyle","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-lifestyle-news","19":"tag-risk-factors","20":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116529802438694524","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}