{"id":150892,"date":"2025-08-16T16:10:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T16:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/150892\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T16:10:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T16:10:15","slug":"study-reveals-the-biggest-risk-factors-for-getting-early-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/150892\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Reveals The Biggest Risk Factors For Getting Early Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 2023 study by the University of Exeter and Maastricht University published in JAMA Neurology<\/a> has identified some of the factors that can lead to early cases of dementia \u2015 some of which may surprise you.<\/p>\n

The data analyzed the behaviors of over 350,000 participants younger than 65 across the United Kingdom to evaluate young-onset dementia, which occurs before age 65. The researchers found there are 15 common issues that can contribute to the early development of the condition. A few have to do with genetics and other elements outside our control, but many others are modifiable.<\/p>\n

\"Researchers<\/p>\n

The Good Brigade via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Researchers have identified some key risk factors for the early development of dementia.<\/p>\n

The study is meaningful to experts because it \u201clooks at young-onset dementia risk factors in a way that has only been done in late-onset dementias previously,\u201d according to Dr. Kevin Bickart<\/a>, an assistant professor in neurology at the University of California Los Angeles Health\u2019s David Geffen School of Medicine. The study features \u201ca very large sample that was prospectively followed from healthy baseline to a dementia diagnosis with lots of data collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest risk factors for young-onset dementia:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The large-scale study looked at 39 possible risk factors and determined that 15 of them made the biggest difference when it came to developing dementia before the age of 65. Those include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Social isolation<\/li>\n
  2. Lower formal education<\/li>\n
  3. Lower socioeconomic status<\/li>\n
  4. Carrying two copies of the APOE gene (a marker that influences Alzheimer\u2019s risk)<\/li>\n
  5. Vitamin D deficiency<\/li>\n
  6. Hearing impairment<\/li>\n
  7. Alcohol use disorder<\/li>\n
  8. No alcohol use (abstinence)<\/li>\n
  9. Depression<\/li>\n
  10. High C-reactive protein levels<\/li>\n
  11. Lower handgrip strength (physical frailty)<\/li>\n
  12. Orthostatic hypotension (a form of low blood pressure)<\/li>\n
  13. Stroke<\/li>\n
  14. Diabetes<\/li>\n
  15. Heart disease<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Although some recognized risks are out of many people\u2019s control \u2015 like being a carrier of the APOE gene or your socioeconomic status \u2015 others can be managed through lifestyle changes. <\/p>\n

    What you can do to lower your risk of early-onset dementia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Overall, the study results are consistent with what medical experts have been advising patients for years. <\/p>\n

    Dr. Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh<\/a>, an assistant professor of psychiatry and of neurology at the Yale School of Medicine, recommended three \u201clifestyle measures\u201d that folks may want to consider when trying to lower their risk of young-onset dementia \u2015 starting with physical exercise.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAn active daily exercise practice can have far-reaching benefits, which include enhanced neurocognitive function,\u201d Fesharaki-Zadeh said, adding that physical activity can boost neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons and synapses), vasculogenesis (the creation of new blood vessels) while also providing inherent mood benefits.<\/p>\n

    Next, focus on eating nourishing foods. Fesharaki-Zadeh championed a Mediterranean-based diet, mentioning its well-documented benefits.<\/p>\n

    \u201cSuch dietary practice, which includes food groups such as green leafy vegetables, olive oil, salmon and blueberries, is rich in vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, as well as antioxidants \u2015 all neuroprotective factors,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

    Fesharaki-Zadeh recommended cognitive, mood and social stimulation to keep your mind sharp. <\/p>\n

    For cognitive stimulation, this could look like learning a new language or attending a seminar, listening to music or dancing. Basically, anything that engages your mind will help it stay healthy. Mood stimulation, on the other hand, relates to stress reduction practices, \u201csuch as mindfulness and yoga,\u201d Fesharaki-Zadeh said.<\/p>\n

    As for social stimulation, it\u2019s pretty simple: Try to connect with other humans face-to-face and actually talk to them as much as possible. \u201cIn the era of pandemic and now post-pandemic, quality social connections should increasingly be encouraged and practiced,\u201d Fesharaki-Zadeh said.<\/p>\n

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    While these habits don\u2019t cover the whole list of dementia risk factors, they are a pretty solid start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 2023 study by the University of Exeter and Maastricht University published in JAMA Neurology has identified some…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":150893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[632,210,10359,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-150892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dementia","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-and-medicine","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115039320418554281","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}