July 19, 2011 (Paris) -- Up to half of Alzheimer's cases worldwide could be prevented through lifestyle changes and treatment of chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, researchers report.
A modest reduction in seven modifiable risk factors for dementia, including smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and midlife high blood pressure, could have a huge impact, says Deborah Barnes, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.
Even a 25% reduction in the seven risk factors, which also include depression, diabetes, and low education, could prevent 3 million cases of Alzheimer's disease worldwide and nearly half a million in the U.S. alone, she tells WebMD.
The number of Alzheimer's cases around the world is expected to triple to 106 million by 2050, Barnes says. With no effective treatment to reverse the course of the relentless disease, prevention is key, she says.
The findings were presented here at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference and published online by the journal Lancet Neurology.