Scientists discover 15 early dementia risk factors in new study - full list

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Drinking, depression and vitamin D deficiency can trigger early-onset dementia, warns a new study. Researchers have identified 15 risk factors - ranging from genetic predispositions to lifestyle and environmental influences - which "significantly elevate" the risk of suffering the condition, which is more commonly associated with older people.Other risk factors include stroke, social isolation, hearing loss and heart disease.

People with early or young-onset dementia develop symptoms between the ages of 30 and 60.The new study of more than 350,000 Brits is the largest ever to be conducted and dispels the previously accepted notion that genetics are the sole cause of the debilitating condition.It's hoped the research could help prevent the brain disease developing in younger people by targeting the health and lifestyle factors identified.

Dementia is an umbrella term for the impaired abilities to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with doing everyday activities, of which Alzheimer's disease is the most common.Though dementia mainly affects people of an advanced age, the disease is not a part of normal ageing and can affect people as young as 30.

However, relatively little research has been done on early-onset dementia - despite around 370,000 new cases of young-onset dementia occurring each year across the globe.The breakthrough new research, from the University of Exeter and Maastricht University, followed more than 350,000 participants under 65 across the UK from the Biobank study.The researchers evaluated a broad array of risk factors for developing dementia ranging from genetic predispositions to lifestyle and environmental influences.