Heavy Coffee Drinking Reduces Brain Volume
Heavy coffee consumption raises risk of dementia and stroke.
Read MorePostpone Dementia by High Midlife Cardiovascular Fitness
Women with a high level of cardiovascular fitness during middle-age had an 88% reduction in risk of developing dementia compared women who were moderately fit in midlife. When the highly fit women did get dementia, they developed it an average of 11 years later--at 90 instead of 79 years old! This comes from a Swedish…
Read MoreRegular Exercise Lowers Risk for Dementia
In the U.S. the total cost of caring for a person with dementia is $287,000, which is 57% higher than caring for a patient with any other disease. Sadly, there is no effective treatment for dementia. However, the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Survey has revealed that people who regularly exercised had almost 50% lower odds of…
Read MoreBrain Health Depends on a Healthy Lifestyle
Vascular risk factors during midlife may foster the development of underlying dementia later in life. Having a BMI of greater than 30 kg/m2 at midlife is associated with 2X the risk of brain amyloid deposits later. Other risk factors are smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes--all modifiable by a healthy lifestyle. PositiveTip: To optimize brain…
Read MorePlant-based Diets Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
A 10-country study of the per capita supply of meat and other animal products (not milk) demonstrated that the higher the supply in the 5 years before diagnosis the higher the risk of Alzheimer's disease. This was correlative and could not pinpoint cause and effect. The authors suggest it might be saturated fat or the…
Read MoreDementia Does Not Have to Happen
A Lancet Commission, after a careful review of epidemiological data, reported that 35% of all dementia is "potentially modifiable". The modifiable risk factors can be separated into early-, mid-, and late-life prevention as follows: Early life: poor education (8%) Mid-life: hearing loss (9%), hypertension (2%), obesity (1%) Late-life: smoking (5%), depression (4%), physical inactivity (3%), social isolation…
Read MoreHearing Loss First, then Dementia?
Researchers with the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging have found a strong association between hearing loss and dementia. When compared to individuals with normal hearing, those with mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss had, respectively, a 2, 3, and 5 fold, increased risk of developing dementia over the 18 year study. This correlation held true…
Read MoreMIND Diet May Delay Alzheimer’s
Evidence suggests both the DASH Diet and a Mediterranean-type dietary pattern have significant brain benefits. A dietary pattern that combines the best of both of these may be even more protective. The MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention of Neurodegenerative Delay) diet is associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline. This was equivalent to 7.5 years of younger age.…
Read MoreScreening for Dementia
Today there is great interest in screening tests to identify early cognitive impairment in older adults. But are there benefits of doing so to the patient or family? According to a review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force there is no empirical evidence to support the benefits of even the best screening tools. Perhaps…
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