Risk factors for memory disorders
Typically, memory disorders develop as a result of the combined effect of lifestyle habits and genetic risk. Pathological changes in the brain tissue associated with Alzheimer's disease may start to develop decades before the symptoms appear, and thus research attention has been focused also on the risk factors that are present in middle-age. A preclinical memory disorder may affect these risk factor levels, e.g. by causing weight loss or decreasing blood pressure already years before diagnosis. Therefore the role of late-life risk factors is more complex to evaluate.
The results of several population-based follow-up studies show that many of the risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases and lifestyle habits play a role also in the development of memory disorders.
The main risk factors for memory disorders include, for example,
- High blood pressure
- High levels of blood cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Smoking.
Protective factors include:
- A high level of education
- Physical activity
- A balanced diet
- An active lifestyle.
Other potential modifiable risk factors for memory disorders include depression, air pollution, traumatic brain injuries, excessive alcohol use and hearing loss.
The CAIDE study (Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia) investigates the lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors for dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and structural brain changes using the follow-up period extending up to almost thirty years. The main aim of the study is to explore the modifiable risk and protective factors for dementia and AD, and also gene-environmental interactions, and lifestyle risk factors.
