HOW TO Save YOUR brain

In her new book, Save Your Brain, Dr Ginni Mansberg explains dementia and the steps you can take to minimise your risks. Regular check ups are a good place to start!

US data shows that almost half of all US adults aged 45 and older have risk factors for dementia that could be easily reversed. Not doing so is a massive missed opportunity. Looking after your brain translates pretty well into looking after your heart. It seems that there is mounting evidence that when it comes to brain health, what we do to protect - or trash - our health in midlife matters more than what we do in old age. I'm definitely not saying that if you wait until 70 to overhaul your health, get fit and get a cholesterol check, that it's game over. But the best returns for your brain health are definitely when you're younger, in midlife.

deafness

I'm starting here because this condition, perhaps unexpectedly, has the most profound impact on your risk of dementia. More than smoking, diabetes or high blood pressure.

A massive meta-analysis of studies was done in 2017 and was later updated to include even more trials in 2020. It was published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet. It named hearing loss as the single biggest risk for cognitive impairment and dementia.

Research is ongoing as to why this is such a significant indicator of the development of dementia. The authors pointed to a small US prospective cohort study of 194 people aged on average 54 to 55 years with normal cognition. They had at least two brain MRIS, on average 19 years apart. The study found that people with midlife hearing impairment measured by audiometry had steeper temporal lobe volume loss, including in the hippocampus. The current theory is that hearing loss just reduces brain stimulation and this might be the direct cause of cognitive impairment and dementia.

high blood pressure (AKA hypertension)