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The health issues that increase the risk of young-onset dementia have been revealed by a new study.
The study identified 15 risk factors, which are similar to those for late-onset dementia, including hearing impairment, heart disease, social isolation and lower socioeconomic status.
The findings suggest that targeting health and lifestyle factors could reduce the risk of the condition.
Researchers have identified a wide range of risk factors for the condition, which is characterised by the appearance of dementia symptoms before the age of 65.
They say the findings challenge the notion that genetics are the sole cause of the condition, laying the groundwork for new prevention strategies.
Professor David Llewellyn, of the University of Exeter, emphasised the importance of the findings: “This breakthrough study illustrates the crucial role of international collaboration and big data in advancing our understanding of dementia.
“There’s still much to learn in our ongoing mission to prevent, identify, and treat dementia in all its forms in a more targeted way.
“This is the largest and most robust study of its kind ever conducted.
“Excitingly, for the first time it reveals that we may be able to take action to reduce risk of this debilitating condition, through targeting a range of different factors.”
Dr Stevie Hendriks, researcher at Maastricht University, in the Netherlands, said: “Young-onset dementia has a very serious impact, because the people affected usually still have a job, children and a busy life.
“The cause is often assumed to be genetic, but for many people we don’t actually know exactly what the cause is. This is why we also wanted to investigate other risk factors in this study.”
Published in Jama Neurology, the new research by the University of Exeter and Maastricht University followed more than 350,000 people younger than 65 across the UK from the UK Biobank study.
The team analysed a broad range of risk factors from genetic predispositions, to lifestyle and environmental influences.
According to the findings, lower formal education, genes and lifestyle factors such as alcohol use disorder also significantly increase the risk of young-onset dementia.
Dr Janice Ranson, senior research fellow at the University of Exeter, said: “Our research breaks new ground in identifying that the risk of young-onset dementia can be reduced.
“We think this could herald a new era in interventions to reduce new cases of this condition.”
Dr Leah Mursaleen, head of clinical research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, which co-funded the study, said: “We’re witnessing a transformation in understanding of dementia risk and, potentially, how to reduce it on both an individual and societal level.
“In recent years there’s been a growing consensus that dementia is linked to 12 specific modifiable risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure and hearing loss .
“It’s now accepted that up to four in 10 dementia cases worldwide are linked to these factors.
“This pioneering study shines important and much-needed light on factors that can influence the risk of young-onset dementia.
“This starts to fill in an important gap in our knowledge. It will be important to build on these findings in broader studies.”
