Research suggests that many dementia cases are connected to risk factors that people may be able to change. A new study from Lund University identifies several lifestyle and health conditions linked to two of the most common forms , Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
A person’s likelihood of developing dementia is shaped by both fixed and modifiable influences throughout life. Certain factors cannot be changed, including age, gender, and genetic background. However, others may be managed or improved. These include smoking, cardiovascular disease, high blood lipid levels, physical activity, alcohol consumption, hearing loss, and high blood pressure.
Dementia itself is not a single illness. Instead, it describes a group of symptoms caused by different underlying brain disorders. Because of this, the risk factors and biological changes involved can vary depending on the type of dementia. The Lund University study explored how different risk factors are connected to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Study Reveals How Risk Factors Affect Different Dementia Mechanisms
“Much of the research available on the risk factors that we ourselves can influence does not take into account the different causes of dementia. This means that we have had limited knowledge of how individual risk factors affect the underlying disease mechanisms in the brain,” explains Sebastian Palmqvist, senior lecturer in neurology at Lund University and senior physician at the Memory Clinic at Skåne University Hospital.
The research followed nearly 500 participants with an average age of 65 who showed no signs of cognitive decline. Over four years, scientists monitored changes in the brain’s white matter. They also measured levels of amyloid β and tau, the proteins closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The goal was to understand how both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors relate to gradual changes in the brain.
