# Lifestyle changes and dementia risk **URL:** \ **Category:** Neuroscience, Psychology, and Health\ **Created:** [October 31, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61 "2018-10-31T22:58:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/josh/32/21_2.png) [@Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Josh)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/1 "2018-10-31T22:58:47Z")
> “One in three cases of dementia could be prevented if more people looked after their brain health throughout life, according to an international study in the Lancet.” Here are the factors they mention: - Mid-life hearing loss - responsible for 9% of the risk - Failing to complete secondary education - 8% - Smoking - 5% - Failing to seek early treatment for depression - 4% - Physical inactivity - 3% - Social isolation - 2% - High blood pressure - 2% - Obesity - 1% - Type 2 diabetes - 1% > “These risk factors - which are described as potentially modifiable - add up to 35%. The other 65% of dementia risk is thought to be potentially non-modifiable.” > **[Nine lifestyle changes can reduce dementia risk, study says](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-40655566)** > > They include hearing loss, smoking, and not finishing secondary education, a study says. Update: [A Blood Test for Dementia](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/a-blood-test-for-dementia/38800) ---
**Author:** ![FuchsiaPseudonym](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/fuchsiapseudonym/32/2538_2.png) [@FuchsiaPseudonym](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/FuchsiaPseudonym)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/2 "2019-09-03T16:12:51Z")
How could one prevent midlife hearing loss? Just by being careful with loud sound exposure as a young(er) adult? Additionally, it was stated that dropping out of secondary school was a risk factor - how is that affected if someone completes their GED later on as an adult? ---
**Author:** ![cabinmoose](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/cabinmoose/32/5525_2.png) [@cabinmoose](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/cabinmoose)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/3 "2019-09-03T18:23:36Z")
It’s not the act of dropping out of secondary school itself that has an effect, but more that the average cultural/personality traits of someone who drops out of secondary school has an effect. You’d imagine if you don’t care about learning, that you’d drop out of secondary school – and learning has an anti-dementia effect. Anyone on a forum dedicated to obscure memory techniques is an extreme outlier of this kind of average! ---
**Author:** ![RobertFontaine](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/robertfontaine/32/6223_2.png) [@RobertFontaine](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/RobertFontaine)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/4 "2019-09-03T23:31:53Z")
Once again confusing causation with correlation. I present to you, “Risk Factors” . ---
**Author:** ![FuchsiaPseudonym](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/fuchsiapseudonym/32/2538_2.png) [@FuchsiaPseudonym](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/FuchsiaPseudonym)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/5 "2019-09-04T21:17:56Z")
One may also drop out of secondary school due to problems with the way information is taught, such as taking a significantly longer time than one’s peers to do homework/prepare for exams due to a struggle remembering information by rote. There’s a difference between not wanting to learn at all and having trouble learning the way schools usually teach, hence why memory techniques should be taught in schools nowadays! ---
**Author:** ![YetiWill](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/yetiwill/32/21883_2.png) [@YetiWill](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/YetiWill)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/6 "2023-02-02T03:08:30Z")
> [@FuchsiaPseudonym](#): > > How could one prevent midlife hearing loss? You can get a hearing aid. My Dad refused them for the longest time for reasons of vanity. He didn’t want to appear old. ---
**Author:** ![Bigdonnyv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/bigdonnyv/32/15039_2.png) [@Bigdonnyv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Bigdonnyv)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/7 "2023-02-02T04:12:32Z")
Hearing tests as well, if you work in noisy environments protect your ears with appropriate hearing protection. ---
**Author:** ![YetiWill](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/yetiwill/32/21883_2.png) [@YetiWill](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/YetiWill)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/8 "2023-02-02T17:18:32Z")
When my son was 12 he wanted to go to a rock concert. I said, “Sure, as long as you wear earplugs.” Later he said, “Dad, it actually sounded better with the earplugs.” My older brother damaged his hearing through concerts, jobs, and sports. He’s 63 and has early signs of dementia. ---
**Author:** ![zvuv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/zvuv/32/4321_2.png) [@zvuv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/zvuv)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/9 "2023-03-22T17:03:27Z")
I think that again, you have confused correlation with causation. ---
**Author:** ![YetiWill](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/yetiwill/32/21883_2.png) [@YetiWill](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/YetiWill)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/10 "2023-03-22T20:56:00Z")
@zvuv I said two things: 1. My brother damaged his hearing. 2. He has dementia. Readers can connect the dots. _If you have hearing loss, you have a greater chance of developing dementia. Hearing loss is one of the top risk factors for dementia. Hearing loss can make the brain work harder, forcing it to strain to hear and fill in the gaps._ [Hearing Loss and the Dementia Connection | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health](https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/hearing-loss-and-the-dementia-connection#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20hearing%20loss,top%20risk%20factors%20for%20dementia.&text=Hearing%20loss%20can%20make%20the,and%20fill%20in%20the%20gaps). ---
**Author:** ![zvuv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/zvuv/32/4321_2.png) [@zvuv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/zvuv)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/11 "2023-03-22T22:20:32Z")
That comment was meant as a reply to FuchsiaPseudonym’s about HS diploma. I don’t know how it landed here. ---
**Author:** ![Euroooo](https://forum.artofmemory.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Euroooo](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Euroooo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/12 "2023-04-06T15:01:40Z")
You might add to this list to eat less food to the items benefitting you health. Below study gives an overview on the benefits it provides to Alzheimer and other neuro deseases. _J Exp Med_ (2021) 218 (2): e20190086 Effects of dietary restriction on neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases Doesn’t allow me to post the link put you should be able to find it with this info. ---
**Author:** ![Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/josh/32/21_2.png) [@Josh](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/Josh)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/13 "2023-04-06T15:04:04Z")
Here’s a link. > **[Effects of dietary restriction on neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33416892/)** > > Recent and accumulating work in experimental animal models and humans shows that diet has a much more pervasive and prominent role than previously thought in modulating neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative mechanisms leading to some of the most... ---
**Author:** ![zvuv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/user_avatar/forum.artofmemory.com/zvuv/32/4321_2.png) [@zvuv](https://forum.artofmemory.com/u/zvuv)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/lifestyle-changes-and-dementia-risk/61/14 "2023-04-06T16:06:51Z")
Here’s a direct link to the PDF [https://rupress.org/jem/article-pdf/218/2/e20190086/1407692/jem\_20190086.pdf](https://rupress.org/jem/article-pdf/218/2/e20190086/1407692/jem_20190086.pdf)