3 Common Myths About Dementia In Old Age

1. "Dementia is inevitable"

The older you are, the more likely you are to develop dementia. This should be regarded as a fact, but not as a rule. Dementia can manifest itself in a number of ways as a result of Alzheimer's disease or stroke, for example, which causes us to lose cognitive and functional abilities.

However, less than 2% of adults aged 65-69 have some form of dementia. This rate rises to 30% for people over 90; but while this jump seems to be quite high, it is not an indication that you will actually develop any dementia when you reach this age. Not to mention, of course, that until then new drugs could be invented that would lessen the chances of this happening.

Another factor to be taken into consideration is that the life expectancy of the Brazilian is around 75 years. Therefore, the biggest risks, that is, those that happen from the age of 90, should not even be a real concern. Of course, taking care of health is important, but don't just focus on the bad part of aging.

2. "It is impossible to reduce the risk of dementia"

30% of dementia cases worldwide are believed to be the result of our lifestyle. Factors such as diabetes, obesity, lack of physical activity and high blood pressure help to develop some types of dementia when we reach old age.

Therefore, it is essential that you start to adopt healthier habits as soon as possible so as not to pay a high price there in the future. Over the past two decades, studies of older people in the US and Europe have shown that individual risk of dementia has fallen, mainly because today's older people are more physically active than previous generations.

3. "If my parents have dementia, so will I"

Late dementia, ie occurring after age 65, is only slightly influenced by genetics. There are actually nine genes that increase or decrease your risk of developing dementia, but only one of them has real influence: apolipoprotein E. If you have a combination of E4E4 alleles, you are 15 times more likely to develop a mental problem. than who has an E3E3 combination.

The other genes, however, have a small effect, around 20%, of influencing this diagnosis. Obesity, for example, can increase the chance of dementia by up to 60%, while physical inactivity can increase risks by up to 80%! This shows that while genes do have a share of "blame, " the main villain is your lifestyle - and it can very well be changed, don't you agree?