A new study finds one in two women, and one in three men is at risk of having dementia, Parkinson's disease, and stroke during their lifetime. Although the new research seems to be bad news, the good news is, it can get prevented.
In the study published in the "Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry," the researchers from the University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands monitored 12,000 people over the age of 45 from 1990 to 2016. Almost 1,500 from them got dementia, 80 percent from it was Alzheimer's, while 1,285 suffered stroke and 263 had Parkinson's.
The study also revealed that 45 percent of women over the age of 45 were more likely to acquire diseases, while it was 36 percent for men, per the South China Morning Post. The difference in numbers is said to be because men die earlier than women.
"It is merely due to fewer men surviving to old age," the study's senior author, Arfan Ikram, said. "Instead because they live longer, women have an increased risk of such diseases."
Ikram added the researchers took the stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's disease into account to know how it would affect people later in life. He also revealed these diseases have indications that those could occur together or have "overlapping causes."
The Guardian also noted people with these three conditions commonly have high blood pressure, abnormal heart rate, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Ikram said the diagnoses just proved that prevention should be prioritized and put the focus on. It could eventually lead to the risk reduction of having common neurological diseases.
The researchers deemed that the risk of having dementia, Parkinson's, and stroke could be reduced by 20 percent among the 45-year-old people and over 50 percent among over 85-years-old if the start of those diseases would get delayed by one to three years.
Director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK Dr. Carol Routledge saw that the rise of finding a drug that could delay the star of dementia is "crucial." There are things people could do to avoid having these illnesses that could maintain having a healthy brain.
Routledge revealed the best "current evidence" recommends eating a balanced diet, maintaining the right weight, and being physically active could help aging people avoid these illnesses. Also, avoiding smoking, drinking cautiously, and keeping normal blood pressure and cholesterol could result in a healthy brain as people age.
