FOX 11, LOS ANGELES – When someone develops cognitive decline before age 65, it is defined as young-onset dementia.
There are approximately 370,000 cases of this type of dementia each year, according to a press release from MU.
“Young-onset dementia has a very serious impact, because the people affected usually still have a job, children and a busy life,” said Hendriks.
“The cause is often assumed to be genetic, but for many people, we don’t actually know exactly what the cause is. This is why we also wanted to investigate other risk factors in this study.”
Those with young-onset dementia can benefit from early diagnosis and support, the researchers noted.
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“In the future, we hope to be able to provide individual advice on lifestyle and risk factors to decrease the individual risk of young-onset dementia — for instance, for persons who have a genetic predisposition,” Hendriks told Fox News Digital.
Of a total of 39 potential risk factors, the researchers identified 15 factors that were “significantly associated” with a higher risk of young-onset dementia.
Those include the following factors:
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- Lower formal education
- Lower socioeconomic status
- The presence of 2 apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOE ε4, a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease)
- Complete abstinence from alcohol
- Alcohol use disorder
- Social isolation
- Vitamin D deficiency
- High levels of C-reactive protein (a protein made by the liver that rises with increased inflammation, per Mayo Clinic)
- Reduced handgrip strength
- Hearing impairment
- Orthostatic hypotension (lightheadedness or dizziness when standing after sitting or lying down, according to Mayo Clinic)
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Depression
“We already knew from research on people who develop dementia at older ages that there are a series of modifiable risk factors,” said Hendriks …