A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has suggested that preventing and treating diabetes and depression could dramatically reduce the risk of developing dementia.
The aim of the study was to estimate the percentage reduction in incidences of dementia if specific risk factors were eliminated, including diabetes. It involved 1433 people aged over 65 with an average age of 72.5 years taking part in a seven year cohort study in Montpellier, France.
The researchers used the removal of a gene linked with dementia as a benchmark for comparison with more practical ways of cutting the risk of developing the condition. Elimination of the ApoE 4 allele from the general population would only lead to a 7.1% reduction in the number of incident cases of mild cognitive impairment or dementia over the next seven years.
By way of comparison, they found that the greatest impact in terms of prevention is estimated to come from increasing education and literacy, leading to an 18.1% reduction in incidence of mild cognitive impairment or dementia over the next seven years. Researchers say that the public health message should be to encourage literacy at all ages.
In the study, eliminating depression and diabetes and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption were estimated to lead to an overall 20.7% reduction in incidence of dementia. Of these, the elimination of depression made the greatest contribution; by way of a 10.3% reduction in the number of new cases over seven years.
The team concluded that fruit and vegetable consumption and eliminating depression and diabetes are likely to have the biggest impact on reducing the incidence of dementia, outweighing even the effect of removing the principal known genetic risk factor, the ApoE 4 allele.
A second study also published in the BMJ has found that people with dementia are generally being diagnosed in the later stages of the disease as opposed to the early stages of the disease when treatments are more effective.