Nearly 40% of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed. These 10 things may lower your risk:
- Maintain systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg or less in midlife from age 40.
- Use hearing aids for hearing loss and protect your ears from high noise levels, starting at 85 decibels.
- Reduce exposure to air pollution and second-hand tobacco smoke. The damage goes beyond your lungs, disrupting your focus/cognitive performance and damaging your liver.
- Avoid head injury (violent sports, job safety measures, be careful generally).
- Limit drinking to less than 1 unit a day (1 unit (8g or 10ml) is a glass of beer or a small glass of wine). Best to eliminate alcohol entirely.
- Stop smoking, and never start if you don’t (beneficial at any age).
- Exercise.
- Maintain a healthy weight and good nutrition.
- Correct vision limitations, have your eyes regularly checked and treat causes of vision disruption and sight loss.
- Monitor for plaque and LDL cholesterol.