There has been some disappointment that the NHS will not offer patients two new drugs for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the most common form of dementia.<\/p>\n
The drugs had already been rejected in preliminary guidance<\/a> from Nice, the body that makes NHS funding decisions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Now it has been reported that its final verdict remains the same.<\/p>\n The two drugs have been called breakthroughs, but Nice\u2019s decision will not surprise most experts. While innovative in how they work, they slow the progress of Alzheimer\u2019s almost imperceptibly<\/a>, and can also cause dangerous side effects like brain swelling and bleeding.<\/p>\n Drugs aside, maintaining brain health is a major concern for many people, as doctors warn the number of people with dementia is set to increase.<\/p>\n There is a lot that we can do to stay mentally sharp though, including for people who are approaching retirement. In fact, there are medical and lifestyle steps you can take at every age that help lower your risk of cognitive impairment and dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Teens and twenties<\/p>\n Younger people may not be thinking much about getting older. But there\u2019s an important decision people take, which usually happens when they are teenagers or in their early twenties, that will impact their long-term health, including their cognitive health.<\/p>\n It is whether someone takes up smoking. Almost nine in 10 smokers start their habit by the age of 21. And most smokers want to quit, but cannot.<\/p>\n Smoking is one of the single biggest lifestyle factors to raise our odds of getting dementia \u2013 in fact, it doubles the risk. It does so in at least three ways: by narrowing blood vessels in the brain, by causing strokes, and by directly harming brain cells through oxidative stress.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the kinds of things that we need to think hard about,\u201d said Professor Jugdeep Dhesi, president of the British Geriatrics Society. \u201cThere are things we can do to lower our risk from a very early age.\u201d<\/p>\n Other lifestyle habits that affect our brain health include how much exercise we do, how much alcohol we drink and whether we keep a healthy weight.<\/p>\n It can be easier to stick with good health routines if we begin them as young and middle-aged adults. \u201cWe have to take a life-course approach to maintaining good brain health,\u201d said Professor Dhesi.<\/p>\n Keeping fit and avoiding heavy drinking have long been shown to improve our cardiovascular health. And things that are good for your heart are generally also good for your brain, said Dr Leah Mursaleen, head of research at Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK. \u201cIt\u2019s never too early or late to start doing these things.\u201d<\/p>\n Forties<\/p>\n Between 40 and 74, the NHS starts offering people a health \u201cMOT\u201d from GPs or pharmacists every five years. This assesses the risk for a range of common conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and kidney disease, and many of the risk factors for these conditions are shared with dementia.<\/p>\n People may be offered medicines to lower their blood pressure, statins to lower their cholesterol, and diabetes medicines to regulate their blood sugar. \u201cIt\u2019s important to make sure you are using all those opportunities for screening for these kinds of health issues,\u201d said Professor Dhesi.<\/p>\n Fifties<\/p>\n Getting your ears and eyes tested are more surprising additions to the interventions that could lower dementia risk. Hearing and vision problems often start becoming noticeable in our fifties.<\/p>\n Studies have long shown a correlation between hearing loss and brain health. And two years ago, a randomised trial confirmed that getting their ears tested and wearing hearing aids if necessary kept people mentally sharper if they were at higher risk for dementia to begin with.<\/p>\n Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer\u2019s Society, said it is still unclear why this happens. \u201cIs it because there\u2019s a biological link between hearing loss and dementia, or is it that if you aren\u2019t able to hear, you remove yourself from social situations?\u201d<\/p>\n Evidence is also emerging that people who have poor vision due to cataracts \u2013 when the lenses inside the eyes become cloudy \u2013 are also more likely to get dementia. <\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_255840821.jpg\")
Smoking can become a lifelong habit (Photo: Westend61\/Getty)Thirties<\/p>\n
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Being in company can make exercise easier (Photo: Maskot\/Getty Images\/Digital Vision)<\/p>\n