Why a healthy lifestyle is not enough to prevent dementia

As the population ages, so does the incidence of dementia
.
Currently, around 1.
8 million people in Germany suffer from dementia
.
Demographic data is expected to increase to around
3 million by 2050.
International studies have shown great potential
to prevent dementia based on modifiable health and lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, physical and mental activity, and diet.
In other words, a healthy lifestyle is good for brain health
.

"But the distribution of opportunities is unequal," says Dr Susanne Röhr, who led the current study and is a researcher
at the Institute for Social Medicine, Occupational Medicine and Public Health (ISAP) at the University of Leipzig.
"Socially vulnerable groups, such as low-income people, tend to be at higher risk of dementia
.
" The researchers used data
from more than 6,200 participants in the Adult Life Study at the Leipzig Civilization Disease Research Center.
The ratio of women and men is the same
.
Participants were aged between 40 and 79 years and were not affected
by dementia.

A large database of population-based cohort studies allowed scientists in Leipzig to map a complex lifestyle index with 12 modifiable dementia risk factors
.
These factors include high blood pressure, physical activity, smoking, obesity, and eating habits
.
Subsequently, the impact
of the index on the relationship between socioeconomic factors (such as education, occupational status and household income) and psychological performance and neuropsychological test results was studied.

The current findings suggest that differences in psychological performance due to social inequality are associated
with modifiable health and lifestyle factors for dementia.
Professor Steffi Riedel-Heller, Director of ISAP, added: "This shows that lifestyle interventions can alleviate social inequalities
in cognitive performance.
"

However, according to the researchers, health and lifestyle factors can only explain the differences
in psychological performance caused by socioeconomic factors to a small extent.
Thus, the findings also suggest that people may be paying more attention to the social conditions themselves
.
"Therefore, political measures aimed at reducing social inequalities may contribute significantly to reducing the risk of dementia," commented
Dr Rhr.