How to reduce dementia risk by half?
Sep 27, 2024
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Unfortunately, if you have already progressed to dementia, there is no way to return cognitive function to the previous level. However, it is not a disease that occurs suddenly one day when dementia is intact. In other words, there is certainly an opportunity to respond in advance.
Hwang Bo-song, director of the Department of Neurology at Sejong Hospital in Incheon, said "Discovering multiple risk factors for dementia at a younger age, correcting and treating them can reduce the risk by nearly half." he said.
Dementia is classified into types such as Alzheimer's dementia, vascular dementia, frontal temporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia depending on the cause of cognitive decline. Accordingly, clinical findings and progress will also change.
They complain of cognitive decline on their own, but in the cognitive test, a normal case is called 'subjective cognitive impairment'. In addition, the degree to which the cognitive test confirms the decline, but does not significantly interfere with social and work life is called 'mild cognitive impairment'.
Most dementia patients progress to dementia after going through these stages of subjective cognitive impairment and mild cognitive impairment.
Dementia is a disease caused by a combination of various factors. These factors are referred to as the 'risk factor' of dementia.
Cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in middle age and lifestyle risk factors such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and lack of exercise in middle age are closely related to dementia. Depression and head injury in middle age are also other risk factors that increase the risk of dementia.
On the other hand, the steady 'cognitive Stimulating Activities' in middle age acts as a factor that lowers the risk of dementia.
Manager Hwang Bo explained, "There are studies that show that early correction and treatment of dementia risk factors can reduce the risk of dementia by up to 45%." "As there are more risk factors that increase the risk of dementia in middle age than in old age, it is most effective to correct these risk factors early from the pre-middle age and continue dementia prevention activities."
"Early correction and treatment of dementia risk factors can prevent or slow progression of dementia."As dementia is an important health problem that requires specialist treatment, the family should pay closer attention than anyone else for early detection," he said.
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