Stop Dementia Before It Starts: 14 Secrets You Need to Know!

00:11:55
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lwJyVNsytg

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses whether dementia is inevitable or preventable, exploring insights from the "Dementia prevention, intervention, and care 2024" report by the Lancet Standing Commission. The report suggests that up to 50% of dementia cases may be preventable through addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, which include maintaining education and brain activity, managing hearing loss, controlling hypertension, avoiding smoking, controlling weight and depression, and maintaining physical activity. Other factors include addressing diabetes and substance use, protecting against head injuries, managing cholesterol levels, minimizing air pollution, and preventing social isolation. The video underscores the importance of lifestyle adjustments and offers viewers supportive advice and an opportunity to share experiences and engage with the community.

Takeaways

  • 🧠 Dementia prevention is possible: Up to 50% of cases can be prevented.
  • πŸŽ“ Education matters: Higher education and mental activity reduce risk.
  • πŸ‘‚ Hearing is crucial: Manage hearing loss to prevent engagement drop.
  • πŸ’ͺ Stay active: Physical inactivity is a risk factor for dementia.
  • πŸ’¬ Social connections help: Avoiding isolation is key to prevention.
  • 🚭 Avoid smoking: It's a modifiable risk factor for dementia.
  • 🍎 Healthy weight matters: High BMI increases dementia risk.
  • πŸ“‰ Control blood pressure: Hypertension is linked to brain health.
  • 🍹 Watch alcohol intake: Keep it under 10 drinks per week.
  • πŸ” Monitor health: Regular check-ups for diabetes and cholesterol are vital.
  • 🦻 Hearing protection: Use protection in loud environments to prevent loss.
  • πŸƒ Reduce pollutants: Minimize exposure to air pollution if possible.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The video, featuring Dr. Brad Weening and Dr. Paul, discusses dementia prevention, referencing a significant report from the Lancet. It highlights that approximately 50% of dementia cases, including Alzheimer's and other types, are potentially preventable through various modifiable risk factors. The conversation touches upon the dramatic increase in dementia cases over the decades, influenced by factors such as increased lifespan and awareness. They emphasize the importance of community support for dementia sufferers and their families and segue into a discussion of the modifiable risk factors outlined in the report.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:11:55

    Dr. Brad and Dr. Paul continue discussing the modifiable risk factors for dementia, focusing on factors like education, hearing loss, hypertension, smoking, and body weight. They highlight the importance of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle to mitigate risks. They stress on practical steps like getting more education, addressing hearing loss, managing hypertension and weight, reducing smoking, and dealing with depression as key aspects to potentially reduce dementia risk. The importance of addressing physical inactivity and maintaining social connections to prevent social isolation is also emphasized, underscoring how lifestyle choices can significantly impact dementia risks.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What percentage of dementia is estimated to be preventable?

    Around 50% of dementia cases are estimated to be preventable.

  • What are some common types of dementia mentioned?

    The types mentioned include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontal temporal dementia, and mixed dementia.

  • How important is education in preventing dementia?

    Higher education is linked to a reduced risk of dementia. Keeping your brain active through education or mentally stimulating activities is important.

  • Can hearing loss affect dementia risk?

    Yes, decreased hearing can increase the risk of dementia, as it may lead to less engagement and learning challenges.

  • Why is hypertension a risk factor for dementia?

    Hypertension affects the small blood vessels that feed the brain, increasing the risk of dementia.

  • Is smoking linked to dementia risk?

    Yes, smoking is a modifiable risk factor for developing dementia.

  • How does physical inactivity contribute to dementia?

    Physical inactivity is a risk factor for dementia, emphasizing the importance of regular physical activity.

  • Why is social isolation a concern for dementia?

    Social isolation has been identified as a risk factor for dementia. Staying socially active and connected is important.

  • How does body weight relate to dementia risk?

    High body mass index has been identified as a risk factor for dementia, so maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce risk.

  • What role does alcohol consumption play in dementia risk?

    The report suggests keeping alcohol intake to fewer than 10 drinks per week to minimize dementia risk.

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  • 00:00:00
    dementia is it inevitable or are there
  • 00:00:02
    things you can do to avoid it oh
  • 00:00:05
    thankfully I hope it's the latter all
  • 00:00:08
    right let's climb this ladder of
  • 00:00:10
    dementia welcome to talking with docs
  • 00:00:12
    I'm Dr Brad weening and I'm Dr Paul Z
  • 00:00:14
    forgot to introduce yourself there yeah
  • 00:00:16
    right so I'm going to talk about a
  • 00:00:19
    report okay a dementia prevention
  • 00:00:22
    intervention and Care 2024 report of the
  • 00:00:25
    Lancet standing commission demen
  • 00:00:28
    prevented intervention say that five
  • 00:00:29
    times vention prevention and prevention
  • 00:00:31
    it Rhymes this is a big report okay but
  • 00:00:34
    this is a summary of what this working
  • 00:00:37
    group put together to teach people how
  • 00:00:41
    they can avoid getting dementia and
  • 00:00:44
    guess what percentage of dementia they
  • 00:00:47
    estimate is preventable I'm going to say
  • 00:00:50
    half 50% around 50% not half around 50%
  • 00:00:54
    of dementias preventable the type of
  • 00:00:56
    dementias we're talking about is
  • 00:00:57
    Alzheimer's disease vascular dementia
  • 00:01:00
    Louis body dementia frontal temporal
  • 00:01:02
    dementia mix dementia all dementias lots
  • 00:01:04
    of dementias it's a family of dementias
  • 00:01:06
    when I think too like 40 years ago there
  • 00:01:08
    weren't really task forces that talked
  • 00:01:09
    about this for a host of reasons people
  • 00:01:11
    weren't sick they didn't live as long we
  • 00:01:12
    didn't know as much about it and now
  • 00:01:15
    we're we're becoming overwhelmed the
  • 00:01:17
    stats that I read in Canada in 2022
  • 00:01:19
    750,000 people were living with
  • 00:01:21
    Alzheimer's or some other type of
  • 00:01:23
    dementia was listed to the number nine
  • 00:01:25
    cause of death of all caused death
  • 00:01:27
    guaranteed every one of our viewers
  • 00:01:29
    viewers yes know someone who has
  • 00:01:33
    dementia or know someone who is dealing
  • 00:01:34
    with a family member with Dementia or
  • 00:01:36
    may even have dementia themselves if you
  • 00:01:39
    have some advice actually for people who
  • 00:01:40
    are living with this or living with a
  • 00:01:42
    family member please share a comment
  • 00:01:43
    because this is a community that
  • 00:01:45
    certainly can help support each other in
  • 00:01:46
    a very difficult time absolutely okay
  • 00:01:49
    all right so we just going to run
  • 00:01:50
    through they came up with 14 modifiable
  • 00:01:52
    risk factors okay so we're not going
  • 00:01:54
    through the whole
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    report it's too it's too big it's too
  • 00:01:57
    big okay so 14 mod iable risk factors
  • 00:02:00
    we're not saying that they're easy to
  • 00:02:02
    modify it's just like your diet or
  • 00:02:03
    changing your lifestyle say hey have
  • 00:02:05
    less stress hey get more sleep you know
  • 00:02:07
    these are modifiable don't get dementia
  • 00:02:09
    but it takes it takes some effort and um
  • 00:02:12
    you obviously do as many as you can yeah
  • 00:02:14
    and you want to start early early as
  • 00:02:16
    early as poss as you'll see with some of
  • 00:02:17
    these risk factors okay so let's start
  • 00:02:19
    with the first one that they identified
  • 00:02:22
    uh if you have less education you're at
  • 00:02:25
    increased risk of dementia and obviously
  • 00:02:26
    this is a very difficult one because
  • 00:02:28
    people don't don't choose to not go
  • 00:02:30
    further in school necessarily no and the
  • 00:02:32
    definition of education is varied right
  • 00:02:35
    is it a formal education in school or is
  • 00:02:37
    it some courses you take or something
  • 00:02:39
    you teach yourself but in any case get
  • 00:02:42
    your brain working keep your brain
  • 00:02:43
    working okay it's not too late to get
  • 00:02:45
    more education there's lots of free
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    online courses you can take in a variety
  • 00:02:49
    of subjects uh watch talking with docs
  • 00:02:52
    that's educational yeah it is we're
  • 00:02:55
    helping you y okay I like that one so so
  • 00:02:57
    number two is is decreased hearing I
  • 00:02:59
    suspect this is for for a host of
  • 00:03:01
    reasons because you become less engaged
  • 00:03:04
    you have a harder time probably learning
  • 00:03:05
    and things like that so the way that
  • 00:03:07
    this is modifiable obviously is get your
  • 00:03:09
    hearing tested I'm not exactly sure the
  • 00:03:10
    recommendations right now it probably
  • 00:03:12
    depends on your symptoms um but as we
  • 00:03:14
    get older hearing aids certainly are
  • 00:03:16
    practical solution they're much less
  • 00:03:18
    kind of uh large right now like they
  • 00:03:21
    used to be really really big but they're
  • 00:03:22
    they're very subtle nowaday it's very
  • 00:03:24
    very common um Unfortunately they can be
  • 00:03:26
    expensive um thankfully some of the uh
  • 00:03:29
    government PL do cover them but yeah I
  • 00:03:31
    think getting your hearing tested and
  • 00:03:32
    dealing with reduced hearing or hearing
  • 00:03:34
    loss is really important or just listen
  • 00:03:35
    to Dr weening he talks loud I do talk
  • 00:03:38
    loud and then the other thing I would
  • 00:03:39
    say is for younger people who don't have
  • 00:03:41
    this yet is wear protective hearing so
  • 00:03:43
    when you're running a chainsaw or the
  • 00:03:45
    lawn mower even at concerts or airpods
  • 00:03:48
    whatever respect your hearing and try to
  • 00:03:50
    protect it in advance that's a good one
  • 00:03:52
    too it's not just wearing hearing aids
  • 00:03:53
    but it's don't do the damage being
  • 00:03:55
    around loud noises yes the next one is
  • 00:03:58
    very common many of viewers have this
  • 00:04:00
    are dealing with this hypertension
  • 00:04:02
    hypertension was identified as a
  • 00:04:04
    modifiable risk factor why is
  • 00:04:05
    hypertension modifiable because you can
  • 00:04:07
    take medications or do lifestyle changes
  • 00:04:11
    that can bring your blood pressure down
  • 00:04:13
    to a normal level and the reason that
  • 00:04:15
    this matters for dementia is likely
  • 00:04:16
    because of its effect on the small blood
  • 00:04:18
    vessels that feed our brain that's right
  • 00:04:20
    okay so that's number three number four
  • 00:04:21
    is is smoking um obviously there are a
  • 00:04:25
    zillion reasons to not smoke we
  • 00:04:27
    recognize that this is very difficult
  • 00:04:29
    takes multiple attempts at quitting an
  • 00:04:31
    organized strategy but please don't
  • 00:04:33
    start smoking if you have started please
  • 00:04:35
    try to stop would you say there's a
  • 00:04:36
    zillion in one now yeah maybe maybe okay
  • 00:04:40
    the next one is and nobody's going to
  • 00:04:42
    like hearing this is your body weight
  • 00:04:44
    yep your body mass index if that is
  • 00:04:47
    elevated this report identified that as
  • 00:04:49
    a risk for getting dementia so if
  • 00:04:52
    there's no other reason for you to try
  • 00:04:53
    and lose weight let this be one of them
  • 00:04:56
    okay very difficult to do but very
  • 00:04:57
    important to do for a host of reasons
  • 00:04:59
    obviously number six is depression so
  • 00:05:01
    people that are depressed have a higher
  • 00:05:03
    incidence of Alzheimer's and other types
  • 00:05:05
    of dementia developing over time so do
  • 00:05:07
    you say oh hey don't be depressed well
  • 00:05:09
    it's obviously not that simple what's
  • 00:05:11
    most important is that if you do have
  • 00:05:12
    signs or symptoms of depression or know
  • 00:05:14
    someone that does get them to see their
  • 00:05:15
    primary care doctor and get appropriate
  • 00:05:17
    treatment that's the thing depression is
  • 00:05:20
    treatable you don't have to suffer on
  • 00:05:22
    your own it is treatable through a
  • 00:05:24
    variety of ways we're not experts in
  • 00:05:25
    managing that but we do have a lot of
  • 00:05:27
    patients who do live with depression y
  • 00:05:29
    and this has been identified as a
  • 00:05:31
    modifiable risk factor for dementia and
  • 00:05:33
    becoming more common sadly and more
  • 00:05:35
    recognized more socially normalized JY
  • 00:05:38
    ads on TV there's a lot of there's a lot
  • 00:05:40
    of social awareness now so just go get
  • 00:05:42
    that treated if you think you have that
  • 00:05:44
    okay the next one is none of our viewers
  • 00:05:48
    suffer from this because we harp about
  • 00:05:49
    it all the time physical inactivity
  • 00:05:52
    physical inactivity is a risk factor for
  • 00:05:55
    dementia okay if you haven't had a
  • 00:05:57
    reason before to get up your feet and
  • 00:05:59
    jump around now you do okay get active
  • 00:06:03
    and actually I was listening to a
  • 00:06:04
    podcast with my wife yesterday about a
  • 00:06:06
    whole bunch of things about anxiety and
  • 00:06:07
    depression and this expert from Harvard
  • 00:06:09
    was talking about something that you had
  • 00:06:10
    said you know sitting is the new
  • 00:06:12
    standing and about how sitting is the
  • 00:06:14
    new SM sorry sitting is the new smoking
  • 00:06:15
    sorry right sitting is not the this
  • 00:06:17
    topic is dementia right so sitting is
  • 00:06:19
    the new smoking and you just have to get
  • 00:06:21
    up and do something and and start small
  • 00:06:23
    it doesn't have to be something a really
  • 00:06:25
    high intensity or for very long just do
  • 00:06:28
    your best to do something get
  • 00:06:30
    that's it okay number eight is diabetes
  • 00:06:33
    um so diabetes obviously in the type one
  • 00:06:35
    situation is not particularly modifiable
  • 00:06:37
    that's very treatable the type two is
  • 00:06:39
    probably the more modifiable of the two
  • 00:06:41
    so trying to maintain a healthy weight
  • 00:06:43
    and activity to reduce your chances of
  • 00:06:45
    developing things like insulin
  • 00:06:46
    resistance and type two diabetes so if
  • 00:06:48
    you do have it try to modify it to get
  • 00:06:50
    rid of it if you have it already see
  • 00:06:52
    your family doctor and get a treated get
  • 00:06:54
    it treated that will reduce your chance
  • 00:06:55
    of demension do I have to say the next
  • 00:06:57
    one you do actually
  • 00:07:00
    reduce your alcohol intake it hurts me
  • 00:07:03
    to say it because we talk about it all
  • 00:07:05
    you're kind of joking around it's not
  • 00:07:06
    like it's not like you drink a lot no I
  • 00:07:08
    don't drink a lot but I know a lot of
  • 00:07:10
    our viewers enjoy having some alcoholic
  • 00:07:12
    beverages and we have been seeing more
  • 00:07:15
    and more evidence talking about how bad
  • 00:07:16
    alcohol is for you uh however the number
  • 00:07:20
    in this report was not as daunting as
  • 00:07:23
    some of the other uh health risks
  • 00:07:26
    associated with alcohol here it's about
  • 00:07:28
    10 drinks per week if you can just keep
  • 00:07:30
    it under 10 drinks for this is which is
  • 00:07:32
    a lot a lot more than the recommended
  • 00:07:34
    amount sure specifically for dementia
  • 00:07:37
    it's higher obviously dose dependent um
  • 00:07:41
    but yeah we we've talked about we
  • 00:07:42
    actually should do one specific video
  • 00:07:44
    all about alcohol it would make people
  • 00:07:46
    sad but I think it's important to know
  • 00:07:49
    kill our Channel I think we would
  • 00:07:50
    recognize that the safe amount is
  • 00:07:52
    probably zero but then uh the lower
  • 00:07:54
    amounts are are probably still within
  • 00:07:56
    safety for certain things so for this
  • 00:07:58
    risk factor for d this report identified
  • 00:08:01
    a certain number of units of alcohol and
  • 00:08:03
    it turns out to about 10 drinks per week
  • 00:08:05
    keeping it under that will minimize your
  • 00:08:07
    chance of demena right okay number 10 is
  • 00:08:10
    traumatic brain injury OB if you already
  • 00:08:13
    have one that becomes less modifiable
  • 00:08:15
    but it's really in the prevention so
  • 00:08:18
    wearing helmets for physical activity
  • 00:08:20
    avoid concussion related activities and
  • 00:08:21
    just do your best to protect your brain
  • 00:08:23
    our brains are very fragile inside of
  • 00:08:24
    our thick skulls right to our high
  • 00:08:27
    school students watching the two of you
  • 00:08:28
    high school students who watch our
  • 00:08:29
    Channel maybe don't try and be captain
  • 00:08:31
    of the football team be captain of the
  • 00:08:33
    badminton team how about the two kids I
  • 00:08:34
    saw going like 30 km an hour on E
  • 00:08:36
    Scooters with helmets I'm like how is is
  • 00:08:39
    that even legal you have to wear a
  • 00:08:40
    helmet right uh I'm not sure what the E
  • 00:08:42
    scooter rule is but I would imagine if
  • 00:08:45
    wear one I think yeah up um so protect
  • 00:08:49
    your brain yeah that's by protecting
  • 00:08:51
    your head yes this one is a tricky one
  • 00:08:53
    for some parts of the world pollution
  • 00:08:56
    air pollution has been identified as a
  • 00:08:58
    risk factor for dementia so you know how
  • 00:09:01
    modifiable is that move if you live in
  • 00:09:03
    an area try and spend as much time away
  • 00:09:05
    from pollution as possible which you
  • 00:09:07
    recognize it's not always a practical
  • 00:09:09
    solution or on the days when they warn
  • 00:09:11
    that the air quality is very very poor
  • 00:09:12
    stay inside unfortunately um but I kind
  • 00:09:15
    of joking when I said move yeah but I
  • 00:09:16
    mean obviously you can people in the
  • 00:09:18
    country are getting this probably a lot
  • 00:09:19
    less frequently than City City Slickers
  • 00:09:22
    city Folk City Folk okay number 12 is
  • 00:09:24
    social isolation and this is a a
  • 00:09:27
    critical one lots of Studies have shown
  • 00:09:29
    that in order to successfully age as
  • 00:09:32
    well as prevent dementia you need to
  • 00:09:33
    stay connected whether that's with your
  • 00:09:34
    family with your friends with a purpose
  • 00:09:36
    of some sort volunteerism a job we need
  • 00:09:39
    to stay connected and not be socially
  • 00:09:41
    isolated and our phones and the internet
  • 00:09:43
    have really exacerbated this and the
  • 00:09:45
    pandemic highlighted it get yourself
  • 00:09:46
    connected get connected leave a comment
  • 00:09:48
    comment is kind of socially engaging
  • 00:09:51
    part of our community that probably
  • 00:09:53
    doesn't count unfortunately as far as
  • 00:09:55
    not being socially isolated because
  • 00:09:57
    people will use that say I got lots of
  • 00:09:58
    friends I got like 00 friends on
  • 00:10:00
    Facebook or something it's a start it's
  • 00:10:02
    a start the next modifiable risk factor
  • 00:10:05
    is vision loss okay how's this
  • 00:10:08
    modifiable well wear glasses go see your
  • 00:10:10
    eye doctor do what you have to do to
  • 00:10:11
    keep your vision up and I think the
  • 00:10:13
    vision loss and the hearing loss they're
  • 00:10:15
    kind of tied into the social Isolation
  • 00:10:17
    part of things right sure I think it
  • 00:10:19
    also could decrease education right
  • 00:10:21
    you're going to learn less you're going
  • 00:10:22
    to read less you're read yeah get your
  • 00:10:24
    eyes checked make sure your vision's
  • 00:10:25
    good for a variety of reasons so you
  • 00:10:27
    don't trip off the curb break a hip we
  • 00:10:29
    see that all the time but in terms of
  • 00:10:32
    dementia Vision poor vision is a risk
  • 00:10:35
    factor okay the last of the 14 monop
  • 00:10:38
    risk factors going to irritate a lot of
  • 00:10:39
    people you're irritating me with this
  • 00:10:41
    one okay so elevated LDL or low density
  • 00:10:45
    Lev protein or high cholesterol
  • 00:10:47
    essentially we know that a lot of people
  • 00:10:49
    don't believe that this is the real
  • 00:10:51
    thing well unfortunately science has
  • 00:10:53
    proven that it is a very real thing yes
  • 00:10:55
    cholesterol is necessary science damn
  • 00:10:57
    you yes our bodies make it but excess
  • 00:11:00
    levels are dangerous and they're part of
  • 00:11:02
    what leads to plaque in our vessels
  • 00:11:05
    particularly the vessels in our necks
  • 00:11:06
    that feed our brains and can lead to
  • 00:11:09
    dementia this was one of the later ads
  • 00:11:11
    to this report yeah high cholesterol so
  • 00:11:14
    however you want to do it try and get
  • 00:11:15
    your cholesterol lowered now you know
  • 00:11:18
    that's it 14 and it's it's a lot it's
  • 00:11:20
    obviously stuff that's all part of a lot
  • 00:11:22
    of it's part of living a healthy
  • 00:11:24
    lifestyle so making better food choices
  • 00:11:26
    being active like we talk about reduce
  • 00:11:28
    your stress get a good night sleep stay
  • 00:11:30
    connected be socially involved that's it
  • 00:11:32
    that's the report now you know leave a
  • 00:11:34
    comment if you um like or don't like any
  • 00:11:37
    of these and if you like this Channel
  • 00:11:38
    please like And subscribe to our Channel
  • 00:11:40
    yeah please subscribe if you're not
  • 00:11:41
    already and remember you are in charge
  • 00:11:43
    of your own health and it turns out
  • 00:11:45
    you're kind of in charge of whether or
  • 00:11:46
    not you're going to get dementia to a
  • 00:11:48
    certain degree for sure we'll see you
  • 00:11:49
    next time
Tags
  • dementia
  • prevention
  • modifiable risk factors
  • lifestyle
  • health
  • education
  • hearing loss
  • hypertension
  • social isolation
  • brain health