Diabetes, air pollution and alcohol consumption were found to be top risk factors for dementia, according to a UK study.
Researchers from the University of Oxford examined brain scans of over 40,000 adults over the age of 45 using data from the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database containing lifestyle and medical information of nearly a half a million UK residents. The study looked at the effects of genetics and modifiable influences on fragile areas of the brain.
The researchers examined 161 risk factors on regions of the brain vulnerable to aging and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia. They categorized “modifiable risk factors” into 15 broad categories including blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialization, diet, physical activity and education.
The authors found that beyond age and sex, the most deleterious modifiable risk factors to the brain network are diabetes, pollution and alcohol intake.
‘We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution ‑ increasingly a major player in dementia ‑ and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia,” Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud, who led this study, said in an Oxford news release.
“We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases,” she added.
The research sheds possible light on some of the most critical risk factors for dementia and potential insights into prevention or intervention measures that can reduce potential brain damage.
The paper, “The effects of genetic and modifiable risk factors on brain regions vulnerable to ageing and disease,” was published online in the journal Nature Communications.
