Dementia is an umbrella term that describes a group of conditions that cause a decline in thinking, memory, and reasoning abilities. The effects can interfere with daily life, prompting people living with Dementia and their families to think about long-term care options.

Dementia occurs after a person endures changes or damage in certain brain regions, including abnormal buildups of proteins known as amyloid plaques and tau tangles. As a result, nerve cells and their connections stop working properly.

While experts are still trying to uncover the full scope of Dementia and the exact causes, several known risk factors have been found to increase your likelihood of developing the condition. These include:

Age

Age is the biggest risk factor for Dementia. As a person gets older, the likelihood of developing Dementia increases significantly. Reports estimate that around two out of every 100 people between 65 and 69 years old have Dementia. The risk increases as a person ages, roughly doubling every five years.

Diseases that damage the brain and result in Dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease or vascular disease, progress slowly, and take many years to damage the brain enough to cause the symptoms of Dementia.

While Dementia most commonly affects older individuals, younger adults are not immune. Evidence indicates at least one in twenty people living with Dementia developed the condition before turning 65.

Genetic Makeup

Researchers have found certain genes can affect your chances of developing Dementia. These genes are typically inherited from a parent and categorized into two kinds: familial genes and risk genes. Familial genes are rare for most types of Dementia. However, if passed down from a parent to a child, they will most likely cause Dementia – usually when the person is in their 50s and 60s. Familial genes are found to be the cause of around one in three cases of frontotemporal Dementia.

Risk genes are much more common than familial genes and increase your chances of developing Dementia. Unlike familial genes, the presence of risk genes doesn’t guarantee a person will be diagnosed with Dementia. Researchers have found more than 20 risk genes that increase a person’s risk, with the most important gene being apolipoprotein E (APOE), which can make a person up to four times more likely to get Dementia.

Sex

A person’s sex can play a role in their likelihood of developing Dementia. Reports show there are more women currently living with Dementia compared to men, possibly because women tend to live longer than men.

Women over the age of 80 are at a slightly higher risk of developing Dementia than men of the same age. The reasons for this are unclear and research is ongoing. Experts think this could be due to general differences in the lifestyles of men and women.

Differences in hormones may also explain the discrepancy in risk between men and women. Studies into the levels of sex hormones around the time of menopause have found that early menopause can lead to a higher risk of Dementia.

Lifestyle Choices

A person’s lifestyle choices can influence their chances of developing Dementia. Research concludes people who engage in healthy behaviors in mid-life (age 40 to 65) are at the lowest risk. These behaviors include:

• Physical activity: A lack of routine physical exercise increases your risk. Engaging in physical activity can improve your thinking and memory to help reduce rates of Dementia.
• Smoking: Strong evidence shows smoking can increase your chances of developing Dementia. Toxins in cigarette smoke can cause inflammation and stress to cells and result in vascular problems, which are linked to the two most common forms of Dementia: Alzheimer’s disease and vascular Dementia.
• Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption can affect your overall health and wellness, including potentially increasing your risk of developing Dementia.
• Social isolation: A lack of social interaction – and the impact it can have – may lead to an increased risk of Dementia.

Health  

Certain long-term medical conditions have been linked to an increased probability of Dementia. These conditions include:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Diabetes
• Vision loss
• Hearing loss
• Depression

Other long-term health concerns, such as multiple sclerosis, HIV, and kidney disease, can cause problems with a person’s thinking and memory that can develop into Dementia in severe cases. Furthermore, Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities greatly increase the risk of young-onset Dementia.