At Risk for Dementia? A Healthy Lifestyle Can Disrupt Those Genetics
Diet, exercise, alcohol, and tobacco use contribute as much — or more — to a person’s likelihood of developing dementia as genetics do
New research reveals that a healthy lifestyle can substantially reduce a person’s likelihood of developing dementia, even if they have a high genetic risk for the condition.
The study — presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association annual meeting and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association — showed that, in people with a high risk, exercise, a healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption, and not smoking was associated with a 32% drop in their likelihood of developing dementia.
“Just because you have a family history of dementia doesn’t mean that you are destined to get dementia yourself,” says Zaldy Tan the medical director of the University of California, Los Angeles Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program who was not involved in the research. “Having a genetic risk does not translate to inevitability of getting dementia. If anything, it empowers people to choose a healthier lifestyle in order to decrease their risk of developing the disease in the future.”
