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According to a new UCL study, nearly one in two dementia cases could be avoided in low- and middle-income countries.
The results, published in The Lancet Global Health, have found how improving the education of children and other health outcomes throughout life could reduce the risk of dementia.
"After previous research showing that one in three cases of dementia could be avoided, we realized that the evidence was biased towards higher-income countries," said Dr. Naaheed Mukadam (UCL Psychiatry), lead author of the study.
"We have now found that in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Latin America, dementia may be even more preventable than in richer countries, so risk factors throughout life, such 39, a low level of education early in life and hearing loss, obesity and low physical activity from half to old age are addressed, these countries could see big improvements in their dementia rates. "
As the number of people with dementia increases worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries, modest reductions in age-specific dementia rates have been observed in many high-income countries over the last two decades. . The researchers say that this could be due to the improved health outcomes throughout life that affect the risk of dementia.
The research team relied on its previous work for the Lancet Commission on Prevention, Intervention and Dementia Care, published in 2017, which found that 35% of dementias were attributable to nine factors. risk: low level of education of children, hearing loss, smoking, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, social isolation, depression and diabetes.
To understand if the commission's findings would apply in the same way to underrepresented regions of the world in the report, a team of UCL researchers looked for data from China, China, and the United States. 39, India and Latin America. They drew on the 10/66 Dementia Research Group, which used a similar methodology to badess the prevalence of the nine risk factors in these countries, with sample sizes of 1,000 to 3,000 in each country.
The researchers found that the world's potential for preventing dementia was even greater, with the proportion of dementias linked to the nine modifiable risk factors being 40% in China, 41% in India and 56% in Latin America. .
A major factor in this difference is the low level of education in low- and middle-income countries, which, according to the researchers, suggests hope for the future, as levels rise. of education increase.
"People who are growing up today in Asia and Latin America are more likely than their parents and grandparents to have completed their education, which means that they should be at less risk-free dementia later than people over 65. Continue to improve access to education Rates of dementia could be very beneficial in the years to come, "said Dr. Mukadam.
On the other hand, social isolation is a major risk factor for dementia in high-income countries, but much less so in China and Latin America. The researchers said public health officials in countries such as the UK could learn from China and Latin America in their efforts to create more connected communities to protect themselves from risk. of dementia related to social isolation.
Obesity and hearing loss in mid-life and end-of-life physical activity were also closely related to the risk of dementia in the study area, as well as to the risk of dementia. in the presence of hypertension in middle of life in China and Latin America and smoking in India.
"Reducing the prevalence of all these risk factors clearly has many health benefits, so we have identified here an additional incentive to support public health interventions, which could also reduce dementia rates. Dementia on global health is an urgent priority, anything that could reduce the risk of dementia could have huge social and economic benefits, "said Dr. Mukadam.
Professor Gill Livingston (UCL Psychiatry), lead author, added, "Many of the results of health and medical research come mainly from higher-income countries, such as Western Europe and North America. It is therefore essential to ensure that research is inclusive for the development of globalization.
"Even if we do not anticipate that these risk factors will be completely eliminated, even modest improvements could have a significant impact on dementia rates." Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would only halve its prevalence * "she said.
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The researchers are supported by the UCLH Biomedical Research Center of the National Institute of Health Research, Wellcome, the NHRI, the Council for Economic and Social Research and the NHRI Collaborations for the leadership in applied research and health care.
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