Age Wise
Would You Want to Know Your Odds of Getting Dementia?
A simple test seems to predict risk from lifestyle factors that can be altered
Suppose a simple test could give you a hint of your risk of developing dementia in years ahead. If you were found to be at high risk, would you change some habits known to affect that risk? Perhaps stop drinking, or eat better, or start exercising?
Such a test has been, well, tested, and it seems to work pretty well, at least in a new study involving 4,164 people who were 59 years old on average.
I happen to be 59, and to be frank, the risk of dementia has been on my mind for several years now. I’m not sure I want to know my actual risk level, but like anyone, I sometimes walk into a room and can’t remember why. I’m always looking for my keys. Those are normal miscues of the mind, the experts say, so it’s hard to know when to start worrying. What I do know is that I took great interest in the new research, detailed online last month by the journal Neurology.
The findings don’t prove the test predicts dementia, the scientists stress. But the results do show an association that mirrors other evidence that lifestyle factors can indeed predict declining cognitive abilities related to dementia — in some cases…
