Researchers have identified a wide range of risk factors for young-onset dementia. The findings challenge the notion that genetics are the sole cause of the condition, laying the groundwork for new prevention strategies.
The largescale study identified 15 risk factors, which are similar to those for late-onset dementia. For the first time, they indicate that it may be possible to reduce the risk of young-onset dementia by targeting health and lifestyle factors.
Relatively little research has been done on young-onset dementia, though globally there are around 370,000 new cases of young-onset dementia each year.
Published in JAMA Neurology, the new research by the University of Exeter and Maastricht University followed more than 350,000 participants younger than 65 across the United Kingdom from the UK Biobank study. The team evaluated a broad array of risk factors ranging from genetic predispositions to lifestyle and environmental influences. The study revealed that lower formal education, lower socioeconomic status, genetic variation, lifestyle factors such as alcohol use disorder and social isolation, and health issues including vitamin D deficiency, depression, stroke, hearing impairment and heart disease significantly elevate risk of young-onset dementia
Professor David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter emphasized 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.
The full study is entitled ‘Risk factors for young-onset dementia in the UK Biobank: A prospective population-based study’, published in JAMA Neurology.
Source: www.news-medical.net