Study finds that in individuals who are at a high genetic risk of dementia, lifestyle problems such as smoking and alcohol can add to the risk
In individuals who have a genetic predisposition, lifestyle may significantly add to the risk of dementia, a new study has found.
The study by University of Exeter Medical School, The Alan Turing Institute and several other research institutes concluded: “Among older adults without cognitive impairment or dementia, both an unfavorable lifestyle and high genetic risk were significantly associated with higher dementia risk. A favorable lifestyle was associated with a lower dementia risk among participants with high genetic risk.”
It was published in JAMA. Both genetic and lifestyle factors play a role in determining individual risk of Alzheimer disease and other dementia subtypes. There is considerable evidence that individuals who avoid smoking tobacco, are physically active, drink alcohol in moderation, and have a healthy diet have a lower dementia risk. Studies have combined lifestyle factors to create a composite lifestyle score to investigate the relationship between lifestyle factors and other health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“Genetic risk and healthy lifestyle were independently associated with risk of incident all-cause dementia. Participants with high genetic risk and unfavorable lifestyle had a significantly higher risk of incident dementia compared with participants with low genetic risk and a favorable lifestyle.”
The retrospective cohort study is based on data from the UK Biobank study. The UK Biobank is a population-based cohort of more than 500 000 participants who attended 1 of 22 assessment centers across the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2010. A healthy lifestyle score was constructed based on 4 well-established dementia risk factors (smoking status, physical activity, diet, and alcohol consumption) assessed at baseline using a touchscreen questionnaire.
The researchers inferred: “Genetic risk and healthy lifestyle were independently associated with risk of incident all-cause dementia. Participants with high genetic risk and unfavorable lifestyle had a significantly higher risk of incident dementia compared with participants with low genetic risk and a favorable lifestyle. There was no significant interaction between genetic risk and healthy lifestyle, and a favorable lifestyle was associated with a lower risk of dementia regardless of genetic risk.”
