How Modifiable are Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia?

Despite the absence of a cure for dementia, the proportion of newly diagnosed cases of all-cause dementia, as well as Alzheimer’s disease dementia, has been declining over the past three decades across high income countries. One possible reason for this is that health behaviour changes at the population level, including smoking cessation, reduced alcohol consumption, and increased physical activity may be responsible. This suggests that some risk for dementia may be modifiable.

Prior research has now solidified that there exist multiple modifiable risk factors for dementia. Previous research estimates that approximately 40 per cent of all dementia cases can be attributed to highly modifiable risk factors such as low mood, poor sleep, poor heart health, and low cognitive and social engagement.

This talk will summarise the recent literature on modifiable dementia risk factors, how they relate to cognitive function, and introduce the BetterBrains trial.

Dr Yen Ying Lim is an Associate Professor at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, primary investigator of the Healthy Brain Project (healthybrainproject.org.au), and the BetterBrains Trial (betterbrains.org.au), and the Director of the Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Optimal Ageing.

Her primary research interests are in integrating and translating the effects of genetic, biological, and lifestyle factors on cognitive decline and clinical disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease which has provided an in-depth understanding of the early cognitive manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease, particularly in consideration with genetic and neuroimaging markers.