Dementia Australia urges focus on brain health

Australians are largely unaware that common health issues such as hearing loss, depression and high cholesterol are risk factors for dementia, new data has found.

The survey, which was commissioned by Dementia Australia and explored Australian attitudes towards the condition, found many community members are similarly unaware proactive steps can help reduce this risk.

Dementia Australia chief executive Professor Tanya Buchanan said dementia is a chronic condition that must be treated with the same health investment as other major chronic conditions.

“It’s never too early or too late to reduce your dementia risk,” Professor Buchanan said.

“The research is clear that dementia is a condition that starts many decades before symptoms appear. So, it is vital that all Australians understand the importance of maintaining brain health throughout their lives.”

Research, published by the Lancet Commission last year, identified 14 modifiable risk factors which, if addressed effectively, could reduce the incidence of dementia globally by 45 per cent.

These risk factors include smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, as well as depression, high cholesterol and hearing loss.

“In fact, people with mild-severe hearing loss are two to five times as likely to develop dementia than those with normal hearing,” Professor Buchanan said.

“Dementia is on track to become the country’s biggest cause of death within the next five years.

“While we cannot change getting older, genetics or family history, scientific research shows that looking after our brain health can make a big difference to reducing or delaying the risk of developing dementia.”

She pointed to a three-year clinical trial, conducted by the University of New South Wales, which tested whether effectively addressing some of the modifiable risk factors for dementia resulted in better cognition in older adults over the same period.

“The outcome was a resounding yes – we can improve cognition over three years and therefore likely enhance resilience to dementia,” the trial’s lead researcher and Dementia Australia honorary medical advisor Henry Brodaty said.

Peter, who lives with younger onset dementia – that is, any form of dementia that occurs in people under the age of 65 – said he was shocked to learn that hearing loss could contribute to dementia.

He has lived with an incurable hearing disorder for the past two decades.

“If we can get the message out there, to help people identify small changes they can make in their everyday, we might just save a life,” Peter said.

For more information, head to dementia.org.au/brain-health/reducing-your-risk-dementia