The chance is one in five that someone ever gets dementia in his life. A quarter of people over the age of eighty are affected by the disease. It is the fastest growing cause of death in the Netherlands, according to figures from Alzheimer Nederland.
A few more facts: one in three women gets dementia, but only one in seven men. It takes an average of fourteen months for the diagnosis to be made. The aging population is rapidly increasing the number of dementia patients in the Netherlands. It is estimated that more than half a million people will have the disease in 2040 and that number will rise to 620,000 in 2050. About seventy percent of them have Alzheimer’s.
Important question: is the disease preventable? The simple answer is: no, but you can reduce the chance of it. “All risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as smoking, lack of exercise, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, also slightly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” explains doctor Sebastiaan Engelborgh against the Goed G Feel health website.
“You can’t prevent it, but a healthy lifestyle can probably cause the first symptoms to manifest later and the disease to develop less rapidly,” he continues. “The second most common form after Alzheimer’s disease is vascular dementia. In that form, the link between cardiovascular disease and dementia is much stronger, and you certainly do well to check your risk factors for cardiovascular disease from the middle age. In fact, you could put it that way: anything that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease is also bad for your brain. Taking care of your heart is also taking care of your brain. “
Alzheimer Nederland mentions seven risk factors for dementia, which you can do something about yourself.
- Low mental activity (few challenges in work, hobby, social activities and education during life)
- Smoking
- Move little
- Depression
- High blood pressure (from middle age)
- Diabetes
- Strong overweight (from middle age)
Sources): Good Feeling Alzheimer’s Netherlands
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