Eliminating diabetes and depression, as well as increasing
education and fruit and vegetable consumption, are likely to
have the biggest impact on reducing levels of dementia in the
coming years, should no effective treatment be found, concludes
a study published in the British Medical Journal today. These
findings suggest priorities for future public health
interventions. While the exact cause of dementia is still
unknown, several modifiable risk factors have already been
identified. These include vascular risk factors (heart disease,
stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and high
cholesterol), a history of depression, diet, alcohol
consumption, and education level. Based on this knowledge, a
team of researchers based in France and the UK estimated which
of these risk factors might be most effective in reducing the
future burden of dementia, should no effective treatment be
found. Their analysis involved 1,433 healthy people aged over 65
years living in the south of France and recruited between 199