Could a change in lifestyle reduce your risk of dementia?

09 May 2018

Dementia  is commonly considered to be neither preventable nor treatable, but what if your lifestyle could play a part in delaying or even preventing the onset of dementia?

A study, published by the Lancet, showed that 9 lifestyle factors including exercise, diabetes, depression and obesity could all potentially play a part  In fact, the research shows that in theory, more than a third of dementia cases might be preventable₁

Professor Gill Livingston, Division of Psychiatry University College London and lead author of the Lancet paper ‘Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care’ will be giving a keynote speech on potentially modifiable risks in dementia at a new dedicated conference in Northern Ireland

The conference is being run by Ulster University, the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT), The Royal College of Psychiatrists and The British Psychological Society.

Gill said: “Dementia is the greatest Global challenge for health and social care this century and prevention is better than cure  Although dementia is diagnosed later in life, brain changes usually begin to develop years before  I’m delighted to be speaking about some of the work I’ve been involved in and the positive impact this has had on preventing, treating and managing dementia.”

Also speaking at the conference, titled ‘Dementia: Transforming the Journey – Prevention, Treatment and Quality of Life’ is Professor Kate Irving, Dublin City University, who will be discussing the work done by the In-MINDD project

The In-MINDD system offers individuals (in conjunction with their doctor or healthcare provider) the opportunity to assess their lifestyle for brain health using the In-MINDD profiler, and deliver a personalised lifestyle strategy.

The conference, to be held on the 17th May at the Hilton Templepatrick, hopes to inspire further service improvement, research and innovation in Northern Ireland across the key themes of awareness, prevention and diagnosis, research, care and treatment of dementia.

Dr Liz Simpson, Senior lecturer at the Psychology Research Institute at Ulster University said ‘Ulster University is pioneering research into the development of connected health interventions that may have the potential to enhance the quality of life for the millions of people across the globe who are living with or affected by dementia The conference is an opportunity for us to demonstrate innovative solutions for those working in care services that will translate into tangible benefits for individuals living with dementia both locally and globally Working in partnership with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, The British Psychological Society and The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland is key in effecting real change to reduce the number of cases of dementia diagnosed each year’

More details of the event can be found at https://wwwrcpsychacuk/workinpsychiatry/divisions/rcpsychinnorthernireland/dementiaconferenceaspx

http://wwwthelancetcom/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)31363-6/fulltext

9th May 2018