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September is World Alzheimer’s Month
Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) World Alzheimer’s Month campaign is September. The theme is ‘Time to act on dementia’ & ‘Time to act on Alzheimer’s’ raising awareness and addressing stigma.
World Alzheimer’s Month is a call to action for policymakers, health and care professionals, experts, those with lived experience, and the general public to take collective action to reduce stigma around the
condition. Get involved and spread the word! Find campaign materials here.
September is National Preparedness Month
September is National Preparedness Month, an annual observance that raises awareness of the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies. Do you know your utility outage number? With
hurricane season upon us, it’s more important than ever to be ready for dangerous weather to strike at any time. Learn more about National Preparedness Month here.
Nearly Half of Dementia Cases Can Be Prevented of Delayed
The 2024 update to the standing Lancet Commission on
dementia prevention, intervention, and care adds two new risk factors (high LDL cholesterol and vision loss) and indicates that nearly half of all dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors.
Modifiable risk factors:
- Less education
- Head injury
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Hypertension
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Hearing loss
- Depression
- Infrequent social contact
- Air pollution
- Vision loss (new)
- High cholesterol (new)
Recommendations to Prevent or Delay Dementia
Here’s what the Lancet Commission recommends that you do to prevent or delay dementia.
- Ensure that good-quality education is available for all, and encourage cognitively stimulating activities in midlife to protect cognition.
- Make hearing aids accessible to people with hearing loss, and decrease harmful noise exposure to reduce hearing loss.
- Treat depression effectively.
- Encourage use of helmets and head protection in contact sports and on bicycles.
- Encourage exercise, because people who participate in sport and exercise are less likely to develop dementia.
- Reduce cigarette smoking through education, price control, and preventing smoking in public places, and make smoking cessation advice accessible.
- Prevent or reduce hypertension and maintain systolic blood pressure of 130 mm Hg or less from age 40 on.
- Detect and treat high LDL cholesterol from midlife.
- Maintain a healthy weight and treat obesity as early as possible, which also helps to prevent diabetes.
- Reduce high alcohol consumption through price control and increased awareness of levels and risks of overconsumption.
- Prioritize age-friendly and supportive community environments and housing, and reduce social isolation by facilitating participation in activities and living with others.
- Make screening and treatment for vision loss accessible for all.
- Reduce exposure to air pollution.
The Lancet Commission also recommends being ambitious about prevention starting early in life and continuing throughout life. Learn more here.
Light Pollution May Increase Risk of Alzheimer’s
New research claims that exposure to outdoor light at night may increase the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers who conducted the study, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant and published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, said they
have found correlations between areas of the US with excessive exposure to artificial light at night and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease.
While the data from preclinical studies and this study suggest that exposure to light at night may influence Alzheimer’s disease, the study notes that additional studies evaluating clinical and population health are needed, including those looking into the impacts of the “the totality of outdoor and indoor nighttime light exposure”.
The authors say they hope the research empowers people to “make easy lifestyle changes” such as using blackout curtains or sleeping with eye masks.
Learn more here.
Living Alone and Connected!
Living Alone and Connected! is an online community by and for persons living with dementia. The group offers information to
support those who live with Alzheimer’s disease (or another dementia) who happen to live in a single person household.
Living Alone and Connected hosts regular virtual educational events for community members. Check out our upcoming events here. If you live alone with Alzheimer’s or other dementia, join the group today! Please share the group with your freinds and network! Living Alone and Connected!
Take Care of Yourself as a Caregiver
Caregiving can be rewarding, but it is also challenging. Taking time for yourself can make you a better caregiver. Learn more here.
Find more NIA tips on Alzheimer’s caregiving HERE.
