In this podcast episode, Professor Livingston tells us about how research in the last decade has given a hopeful perspective on dementia by highlighting the importance of prevention and will give us helpful tips to reduce those risk factors in our lives.
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In this episode, Prof. Livingston will tell us more about how research in the last decades has given a hopeful perspective on the problem of dementia, by highlighting the importance of prevention. She will talk about her research which has shown that more than a third of dementia cases could potentially be avoided by reducing the risk factor incidence, and will give us helpful tips to reduce those risk factors in our life.
Medical low-down
In short, no. The majority of dementia is not heritable, although we may inherit medical conditions from our parents that indirectly increase our risk.
Many of us worry that if we have a relative with dementia, we will also develop the condition - but this is not a foregone conclusion. Only some very rare types of dementia, such as early-onset Alzheimer's, have a strong genetic component. However, while you may not inherit specific genes for dementia, you may well inherit genes that increase the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart problems, which in turn can influence your risk of dementia. This is why healthy lifestyles can be harnessed to offset genetic risk for dementia.
Lourida, I., Hannon, E., Littlejohns, T. J., Langa, K. M., Hyppönen, E., Kuźma, E., & Llewellyn, D. J. (2019). Association of lifestyle and genetic risk with incidence of dementia. Jama, 322(5), 430-437.
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