The biggest risk factors for young-onset dementia

A large-scale study looked at 39 possible risk factors and determined that 15 of them made the biggest difference when it came to developing dementia before the age of 65. Those include:

1. Social isolation

2. Lower formal education

3. Lower socioeconomic status

4. Carrying two copies of the APOE gene (a marker that influences Alzheimer’s risk)

5. Vitamin D deficiency

6. Hearing impairment

7. Alcohol use disorder

8. No alcohol use (abstinence)

9. Depression

10. High C-reactive protein levels

11. Lower handgrip strength (physical frailty)

12. Orthostatic hypotension (a form of low blood pressure)

13. Stroke

14. Diabetes

15. Heart disease

Although some recognized risks are out of many people’s control ― like being a carrier of the APOE gene or your socioeconomic status ― others can be managed through lifestyle changes.