MONTPELLIER, France—Addressing depression and diabetes while encouraging greater literacy and produce consumption should be public health aims to help reduce the population incidence of dementia, according to a new study (BMJ. ePub 5 Aug 2010; DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c3885). While the precise causes of dementia are unknown, there are several modifiable risk factors associated with its development, including diet, alcohol consumption, education level, vascular health and depression.
In the current seven-year, cohort study, researchers from INSERM recruited healthy older adults (n=1,433, age 65 years and over). The subjects underwent cognitive testing at the start of the study and two, four and seven years later. They also provided information on medical conditions, diet, education and income. The research team used Cox models to derive hazard ratios and determine potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia.
After reviewing the results, the team determined several factors that could reduce dementia incidence. Subjects with higher levels of education had an 18 percent drop in risk of developing dementia, while those with more fruit and vegetable consumption reduced their risk by almost 7 percent. An increased risk of dementia onset was associated with depression (10 percent increase) and diabetes (4.9 percent increase).
The researchers concluded public health initiatives to combat dementia should focus on treating depressive symptoms, screening for pre-diabetes factors such as glucose intolerance, and encouraging greater literacy among all ages. They noted, “Removing diabetes and depression along with increasing crystallized intelligence and fruit and vegetable consumption seem to have a greater impact than modifying genetic risk."