5 tips to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease purple ribbon in hands symbolizing awareness and support against Alzheimer's.

World Alzheimer’s Day falls on 21 September this year, and it is time to take proactive measures to reduce the risk against this incurable disease. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is defined as the progressive decline of memory, thinking and language. AD is the most common type of dementia. Although age is the biggest risk factor for developing AD, the disease can occur in someone younger than 65 years old, and this is known as young-onset AD. In Singapore, 1 in 10 people over the age of 60 years old live with dementia (Subramaniam et al., 2015).

Although there is no cure for dementia, there is potential to treat symptoms early because changes in the brain begin 20 years before the onset of dementia (Caselli et al., 2020). Thus, detecting symptoms early will allow for timely intervention to slow down the progression of the disease. If you have concerns about your cognition, speak to your healthcare provider on how to get assessed for your cognition.

There are ways to reduce the risk against Alzheimer’s disease through lifestyle modification (Livingston et al., 2024). Here are 5 lifestyle tips to combat Alzheimer’s disease.

1. Manage Your Cholesterol Levels

Stethoscope, medication, and diagnosis file indicating high cholesterol, highlighting the importance of managing cholesterol levels to reduce Alzheimer's risk.

Manage your cholesterol levels with regular blood tests. High levels of cholesterol in the brain cause harmful proteins such as amyloid and tau to build up. Abnormal tau accumulates in specific brain regions responsible for our memory and amyloid clumps into plaques between neurons. (Nagga et al., 2018). If you have high cholesterol, speak to your doctor to get advice on how to lower your cholesterol levels.

2. Manage Your Blood Pressure

Blood pressure monitor showing high blood pressure reading emphasizing the importance of managing blood pressure to reduce alzheimer's risk.

Manage your blood pressure at home with a digital blood pressure device which can be purchased at pharmacies. A normal blood pressure reading should be less than 130/85mmHg. A blood pressure of 140/90mmHg or higher indicates high blood pressure. High blood pressure is known as a silent killer because it usually has no symptoms. However, damage is caused to the arteries that is 3 responsible to carry oxygen to the brain. See a doctor to get advice on how to manage your high blood pressure. (Singapore Heart Foundation, 2024).

3. Manage Blood Sugar Levels

Blood sugar test showing 98 mg/dl highlighting the importance of managing blood sugar levels to reduce the risk of alzheimer's disease.

Manage blood sugar levels with regular blood tests. Higher glucose levels are a risk factor in developing dementia. (Crane et al., 2013). Blood sugar levels may cause brain damage, cause brain atrophy, altered blood vessels in the brain and impair cell function (Cao et al., 2024). Speak to your doctor about how to manage blood sugar levels.

4. Treat Depression

Illustration of brain with sad and happy faces representing depression highlighting the need to manage depression to reduce alzheimer's risk.

There is a high comorbidity of people with depression and dementia. About 40% of people with dementia have depression. Depression and dementia share common symptoms such as social isolation, decreased ability 4 to function daily and poorer cognition. (Leung et al., 2021). Treating depression is likely to have the biggest impact of reducing the risk of developing dementia. If you experience low mood, seek a doctor for advice on how to treat depression.

5. Increase Moderate to Intensive Physical Activity

Two women exercising on stationary bikes emphasising the importance of physical activity to reduce the risk of alzheimer's disease.

Low levels of physical activity increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. Physical activity modulates the amyloid, blood flow to the brain and release of neurotrophins that help fight infection (De la Rosa et al., 2020). Include a mix of aerobic (i.e. running, swimming), strength (i.e. weight training) and balance exercises (i.e. yoga, Pilates) into your weekly physical activity routine.

Schedule Regular Cognitive Screening

Woman using smartphone with digital brain function test displayed on multiple devices emphasising the importance of regular cognitive screening to detect alzheimer's risk.

Schedule regular cognitive screening to detect any cognitive decline. The Digital Brain Function Screen (DBFS) is a digital cognitive assessment which takes around 25 minutes to complete and can be done wherever you are. The DBFS incorporates neuroscience puzzles and a lifestyle questionnaire which allows for monitoring of cognitive decline over time. You can find out more from your ATA Medical clinic doctor or read more about the DBFS here.

A happy life starts with a healthy body and mind. Please share these tips with your loved ones to help them reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and live life to the fullest.

References

Cao, F., Yang, F., Li, J. et al. The relationship between diabetes and the dementia risk: a meta-analysis. Diabetol Metab Syndr 16, 101 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-024-01346-4

Caselli RJ, Langlais BT, Dueck AC, Chen Y, Su Y, Locke DEC, Woodruff BK, Reiman EM. Neuropsychological decline up to 20 years before incident mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Dement. 2020 Mar;16(3):512-523. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2019.09.085. Epub 2020 Jan 6. PMID: 31787561; PMCID: PMC7067658.

Crane PK, Walker R, Hubbard RA, Li G, Nathan DM, Zheng H, Haneuse S, Craft S, Montine TJ, Kahn SE, McCormick W, McCurry SM, Bowen JD, Larson EB. Glucose levels and risk of dementia. N Engl J Med. 2013 Aug 8;369(6):540-8. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1215740. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2013 Oct 10;369(15):1476. PMID: 23924004; PMCID: PMC3955123.

De la Rosa A, Olaso-Gonzalez G, Arc-Chagnaud C, Millan F, Salvador-Pascual A, GarcíaLucerga C, Blasco-Lafarga C, Garcia-Dominguez E, Carretero A, Correas AG, Viña J, Gomez-Cabrera MC. Physical exercise in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. J Sport Health Sci. 2020 Sep;9(5):394-404. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2020.01.004. Epub 2020 Feb 4. PMID: 32780691; PMCID: PMC7498620.

Leung DKY, Chan WC, Spector A, Wong GHY. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and apathy symptoms across dementia stages: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Sep;36(9):1330-1344. doi: 10.1002/gps.5556. Epub 2021 May 4. PMID: 33905138.

Livingston G, Huntley J, Liu KY, Costafreda SG, Selbæk G, Alladi S, Ames D, Banerjee S, Burns A, Brayne C, Fox NC, Ferri CP, Gitlin LN, Howard R, Kales HC, Kivimäki M, Larson EB, Nakasujja N, Rockwood K, Samus Q, Shirai K, Singh-Manoux A, Schneider LS, Walsh S, Yao Y, Sommerlad A, Mukadam N. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. Lancet. 2024 Aug 10;404(10452):572-628. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01296-0. Epub 2024 Jul 31. PMID: 39096926.

Nägga K, Gustavsson AM, Stomrud E, Lindqvist D, van Westen D, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Melander O, Hansson O. Increased midlife triglycerides predict brain β-amyloid and tau pathology 20 years later. Neurology. 2018 Jan 2;90(1):e73-e81. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004749. Epub 2017 Dec 1. PMID: 29196581; PMCID: PMC5754649.

Singapore Heart Foundation. High Blood Pressure. https://www.myheart.org.sg/health/risk-factors/high-bloodpressure/#:~:text=Normal%3A%20A%20normal%20blood%20pressure,not%20develop %20high%20blood%20pressure.

Subramaniam M, Chong SA, Vaingankar JA, Abdin E, Chua BY, Chua HC, Eng GK, Heng D, Hia SB, Huang W, Jeyagurunathana A, Kua J, Lee SP, Mahendran R, Magadi H, Malladi S, McCrone P, Pang S, Picco L, Sagayadevan V, Sambasivam R, Seng KH, Seow E, Shafie S, Shahwan S, Tan LL, Yap M, Zhang Y, Ng LL, Prince M. Prevalence of Dementia in People Aged 60 Years and Above: Results from the WiSE Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2015;45(4):1127-38. doi: 10.3233/JAD-142769. PMID: 25672767.

5 Lifestyle Tips to Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease