Category Archives: Risk Factors

Listen Up! Hearing Aids Can Help Resist Dementia.

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In an October post (Hearing Loss and Dementia) we examined several studies of the relationship between hearing loss and the onset of dementia. The present post is a follow-up to that October post. We list three additional studies of the dementia-hearing loss relationship, together with seven media articles on that relationship, and on the ability of hearing aids to slow the possible onset of dementia due to hearing loss.

Here are the seven media articles:
For Better Brain Health, Preserve Your Hearing
Link between hearing and cognition begins earlier than once thought
Mild Hearing Loss May Be Associated with Mental Decline in Seniors
Hearing Loss Linked to Dementia
CAN HEARING AIDS HELP PREVENT DEMENTIA?
Cognitive loss and hearing loss
Hearing Loss and Dementia: Breakthrough Research Seeks Causal Link

Here are the three studies on the association of hearing losss with dementia:
Association of Subclinical Hearing Loss With Cognitive Performance.
Association of Hearing Loss With Dementia
Relationship of Hearing loss and Dementia: a Prospective, Population-based Study

All links have been added to Aging and Risk Factors.

Category: Aging, Alzheimers/Dementia, Risk Factors

Hearing Loss and Dementia

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Most people can expect to deal with hearing loss in the course of normally long lives. 50% of people in their 70’s suffer from it, as do 80% of people in their 80’s. Unfortunately, besides being troublesome, it appears that hearing loss can have a direct causal effect on dementia, as well as other bad outcomes. (See the table in our post Nine Factors Contributing to Dementia — You Can Manage Them. Hearing loss, at 9%, is the largest factor.)

1,164 participants (average age 73.5) in a 24-year longitudinal study underwent assessments for hearing acuity and cognitive function between the years 1992 to 1996. All of them were followed for up to 24 years with up to five subsequent cognitive assessments at approximately four-year intervals. None used a hearing aid.

Almost half of the participants had mild hearing impairment, with almost 17% suffering moderate-to-severe hearing loss. Those with more serious hearing impairment showed worse cognitive performance at the initial visit. Hearing impairment was associated with greater decline in performance on cognitive tests over time, both for those with mild hearing impairment and those with more severe hearing impairment.

Here are two media articles on the work:
With age comes hearing loss and a greater risk of cognitive decline
How hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline
Here is the abstract of the original research article:
Hearing impairment and cognitive decline in older, community-dwelling adults.

Similar conclusions arise from a study of 8 years of data from more than 10,000 men. The study compared the effects of hearing loss with measures of subjective cognitive decline, which is changes in memory and thinking that people notice in themselves.

The risk of subjective cognitive decline was 30 percent higher among men with mild hearing loss, compared with those with no hearing loss, while for men with moderate or severe hearing loss, the risk was between 42 and 54 percent higher.

Media article:
Hearing loss and cognitive decline: Study probes link
Research publication:
Longitudinal study of hearing loss and subjective cognitive function decline in men

In another study that covered over 154,000 adults 50 and older who had health insurance claims, but no evidence of hearing device use, researchers found that untreated hearing loss increased the risk of developing dementia by 50 percent and depression by 40 percent in just five years when compared to those without hearing loss. This study also demonstrated a clear association between untreated hearing loss and not only an increased risk of dementia and depression, but also falls and even cardiovascular diseases.

Here are three media articles on this study:
Hearing Loss Threatens Mind, Life and Limb
Higher risk of dementia and depression with an untreated hearing loss
Hearing Loss in Older Adults Linked to Depression, Dementia Among Other Comorbidities
Here is the original research publication:
Incident Hearing Loss and Comorbidity: A Longitudinal Administrative Claims Study

There is concrete evidence that using hearing aids can slow the rate of cognitive decline, as shown by two recent research studies.

Here is a review discussion of the first research publication on hearing aids:
Evidence that Hearing Aids Could Slow Cognitive Decline in Later Life
First research article:
Longitudinal Relationship Between Hearing Aid Use and Cognitive Function in Older Americans

Here are media articles about the second research publication on hearing aids:
Hearing aids linked to lower risk of dementia, depression and falls
Hearing aids lower the chance of dementia, depression, and falling
Second research article:
Can Hearing Aids Delay Time to Diagnosis of Dementia, Depression, or Falls in Older Adults?

Finally, we note a study, closely related to the “Administrative Claims Study” above, which shows that untreated hearing loss tends to lead to higher health care costs over time. (Users of hearing aids were not considered in the study, so, as yet, one cannot conclude that hearing aid use might lower costs, though that might be a reasonable inference.)

Media article:
Patients with untreated hearing loss incur higher health care costs over time
Research article:
Trends in Health Care Costs and Utilization Associated With Untreated Hearing Loss Over 10 Years

All links have been added to Aging and Alzheimers > Risk Factors

Category: Aging, Alzheimers/Dementia, Risk Factors

Catch Up II: Weight Training, A Wedding, History, COPD.

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Here we continue Catch Up I: Dementia Signs, Microbiome & Brain, Processed Foods & More, setting out four brief posts concerning links which either bring up to date earlier posts on Strong Brain, or which are simply of interest in and of themselves.

☞ Weight Training & Brain Health

Add weight training to the list of types of exercise benefitting body and brain (even if the study deals with rats): Serious Exercise May Seriously Defer Aging.

Media articles:
How Weight Training Changes the Brain
Weight Training – Good for the Brain Too?
Research publication:
Resistance-exercise training ameliorates LPS-induced cognitive impairment concurrent with molecular signaling changes in the rat dentate gyrus

Category: Exercise, Aging

☞Another Bittersweet Wedding.

So sad, yet so sweet: A man descends into dementia, forgets he is married to his wife — who is his caregiver, and who he deeply loves — and pesters her to marry him. Which she does, again:
After Countless Proposals, She Finally Said Yes. Again.

See Coping & Caregiving: Bittersweet Stories for more such stories.
Category: Coping & Caregivers > Coping Stories

☞ History of Alzheimer’s

The History of Alzheimer’s Disease

Category: Alzheimers > General & Resources > General

☞ COPD and Your Brain

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cuts down on the amount of oxygen supplied by your lungs to all parts of your body, including your brain. It is linked to a higher risk for memory and cognitive problems with older adults with COPD having nearly twice the risk for memory problems:
How COPD Affects Your Brain

Category: Risk Factors

Each group of links has been added to the indicated categories.

Category: Aging, Alzheimers/Dementia, Caregivers & Coping, Physical Exercise, Risk Factors

Catch Up I: Dementia Signs, Microbiome & Brain, Processed Foods & More

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Here we set out five brief posts concerning links which either bring up to date earlier posts on Strong Brain, or which are simply of interest in and of themselves.

☞ Signs: Onset of Dementia

Our recent post Distilled: Signs of the Onset of Dementia listed 18 possible signs of the onset of dementia. The excellent article Recognizing Alzheimer’s Disease adds to that by providing a discussion of early warning signs and a view of diagnosis.

Category: Diagnosis & Tests

☞ Microbiome & Brain

Quite recently, it has become apparent that the microbiome (all the microbes resident in an organism) can affect the brain, including the amount of amyloid beta clumps and exhibition of autistic behaviors. Much of the work has been done with mice (surprise!), but some also on humans. This is a quite interesting article on these investigations:
Germs in Your Gut Are Talking to Your Brain. Scientists Want to Know What They’re Saying.

Category: Neuro-Psych

☞ More on Processed Foods

Recently we published a somewhat lengthy post Best To Avoid Over-Processed Foods. The article below adds to that post:
What’s so bad about processed foods? Scientists offer clues.

Category: Diet

☞ Cancer Treatment and Dementia

A very large U.S. study of prostate cancer patients in their 70’s demonstrates a notable increased risk of Alzheimer’s among patients who received Androgen Deprivation Therapy.
Dementia tied to hormone-blocking prostate cancer treatment
Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Tied to Dementia
Original research:
Association Between Androgen Deprivation Therapy Use and Diagnosis of Dementia in Men With Prostate Cancer

Category: Risk Factors

☞ Dementia Screening During Wellness Exams

The article Alzheimer’s Screenings Often Left Out Of Seniors’ Wellness Exams discusses the situation vis-a-vie dementia screening during annual wellness exams for seniors. The number of seniors experiencing them, and the number of physicians administering them, are relatively low, for a variety of reasons discussed in the article. Most likely, large-scale routine screening won’t be happening until a moderately inexpensive blood test is widely available.

Category: Diagnosis & Tests

Each group of links has been added to the indicated category.

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Diagnosis & Tests, Diet, Neuro-Psych, Risk Factors

High Blood Pressure And Dementia

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The link between high blood pressure and dementia has been known for some time. Two recent research reports reinforce this existing knowledge.

One study set out to determine the effects of intensively lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg on the heart, kidney, and brain in hypertensive older adults who did not have diabetes or stroke; the present report deals with a sub-study focused on brain health, and showed that aggressive treatment of hypertension to less than 120 mm Hg systolic blood pressure is not harmful to the brain, but beneficial.

The second study examined how blood pressure changes/patterns related to dementia risk over time. It was shown that the patterns consisting of midlife and late-life hypertension, and midlife hypertension and late-life hypotension, significantly increased risk of subsequent dementia as compared with people with normal blood pressure.

Here are three media articles about the reports:
Controlling blood pressure may help ward off dementia
Abnormal blood pressure in middle and late life influences dementia risk
Studies Tackle Blood Pressure, Cognition Relationship

Original research articles:
Association of Midlife to Late-Life Blood Pressure Patterns With Incident Dementia
Association of Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Control With Cerebral White Matter Lesions

Inspired by these reports, here is an article about lowering blood pressure:
Tips for lowering your blood pressure, which may reduce your risk of dementia

All links have been added to Alzheimer’s > Risk Factors.

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Risk Factors

Anticholinergic Drugs Might Lead To Dementia

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Acetylcholine (ACh) is a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) occurring widely in the brains and bodies of humans and many animals. Anticholinergics are chemical substances (drugs) which block the action of acetylcholine at synapses in the central and the peripheral nervous system. For some years, many scientists have suspected that long-term use of various anticholinergics might tend to increase the risk of dementia. A succession of studies have shown a strong association between long-term use of various anticholinergics and the later development of dementia. We set out three of them here. In total, the three studies involved 637,843 participants.

The most recent study was published June 24, 2019. It showed that the strongest associations between anticholinergics and dementia was for these classes of drugs: antidepressants, bladder antimuscarinics (treating overactive bladder), antipsychotics and antiepileptic drugs.

Here are four media articles about the most recent work:
Anticholinergic Drugs Associated With Dementia Risk
Commonly prescribed drugs are tied to nearly 50% higher dementia risk in older adults, study says
Widely used class of drugs linked to dementia
Anticholinergic Drugs Could Account for 10% of Dementia Cases

Here is the original research article, together with a page of commentary by related experts:
Anticholinergic Drug Exposure and the Risk of Dementia, A Nested Case-Control Study
expert reaction to anticholinergic drug exposure and risk of dementia

Here are summaries concerning anticholinergic drugs:
Anticholinergic Drugs to Avoid in the Elderly
List of Anticholinergic Drugs and Why Some of Them are Dangerous for Seniors
Here is a table merging the information from the two pages above:
Table of Anticholinergic Drugs

The next study was published April 25, 2018 and showed that anticholinergics for depression, Parkinson’s and urinary incontinence carry a higher risk of dementia than others.

Here are three media articles about this research:
Some antidepressants linked to dementia risk
Certain common medications tied to 30% higher dementia risk, study finds
Some antidepressants and incontinence drugs linked to dementia
CAN ALLERGY MEDICATIONS HARM YOUR BRAIN?

Here is a summary concerning anticholinergic drugs:
Anticholinergics

Here is an NIH abstract of the research, together with the original research article:
Anticholinergic drugs and risk of dementia: case-control study. (NIH Abstract)
Anticholinergic drugs and risk of dementia: case-control study (Full Publication)

The research reports above both build on earlier work, in particular research reported on March 1, 2015. Here are two articles about that work:
Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl linked to increased dementia risk
Benadryl and Other Common Medications are Linked to Dementia in Men and Women

And here is the original research article:
Cumulative use of strong anticholinergics and incident dementia: A prospective cohort study

All links have been added to Alzheimers > Risk Factors.

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Risk Factors

Once Again, Lifestyle Counts

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Another new study, involving 196,383 UK adults age 60 and older, has re-confirmed the importance of following healthy lifestyles for lowering your dementia risk — even if you have a high genetic risk for dementia. The study results showed a statistically significant difference: 1.13% of those with a healthy lifestyle developed dementia later in life compared with 1.78% of those with a less healthy lifestyle. The definition of healthy lifestyle included the following:

  • avoid smoking tobacco
  • be physically active
  • drink alcohol in moderation, or not at all
  • healthy diet: following recommendations on dietary priorities for cardiometabolic health

Here are three media articles on the study:
Your lifestyle can lower your dementia risk, even if you have high genetic risk, study says
Healthy lifestyle may offset genetic risk of dementia
Is healthy lifestyle associated with lower risk of dementia regardless of genetic risk?
The study was simultaneously presented at the 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference together with JAMA publication here:
Association of Lifestyle and Genetic Risk With Incidence of Dementia

Another study presented at the Alzheimer’s Association Conference looked at similar issues. It tracked 2,765 individuals over about 10 years, rating them 1 point for maintaining each of the following healthy behaviors:

  • a low-fat diet
  • did not smoke
  • exercised at least 150 minutes each week at moderate-to-vigorous levels
  • drank moderately
  • engaged in some late-life cognitive activities

Those who rated 4 or 5 (i.e., participated in 4 or 5 of the healthy behaviors) were were 60% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s compared with participants who rated only 0 or 1 (i.e. participated in none or one of the healthy behaviors). The results did not vary by race or gender.
Here are two media articles on the work (formal publication is not yet available):
It May Be Possible to Counter Some of the Genetic Risk of Alzheimer’s With These Lifestyle Changes
Doing these five things could decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent, new study says

All links have been added to Alzheimers > Amelioration/Prevention, Alzheimers > RiskFactors, Alzheimers > Mental Exercise, Health > Diet, and to Health > Physical Exercise.

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Amelioration/Prevention, Diet, Mental Exercise, Physical Exercise, Risk Factors

Outdoors for Physical & Mental Health (Green!)

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Some time back, we posted Green for Health on studies, small and large, showing that the greener one’s environment, the greater the boost to one’s health. Now a new study shows that getting out of the city and into nature (forest, park, beach, whatever) will improve both your physical and mental health.
Here are two media articles on the study:
Spending time in nature boosts health, study finds
Two-hour ‘dose’ of nature significantly boosts health – study
Here is the original research report:
Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing

Combining this work with that we pointed to in
More On Air Pollution & Dementia
and
Air Pollution: Shorter Life, More Dementia Risk, Worse Thinking
strengthens the case for trying to maximize time spent outside of dense urban environments.

This is particularly strengthened by another air pollution study showing that very large numbers of pollution particles are found in the hearts of urban dwellers.
Media article:
Billions of air pollution particles found in hearts of city dwellers
Original research article:
Combustion- and friction-derived magnetic air pollution nanoparticles in human hearts

All links have been added to Alzheimers > Amelioration/Prevention and to Alzheimers > RiskFactors

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Amelioration/Prevention, Risk Factors

More On Air Pollution & Dementia

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We previously put out a longish post about the effects of air pollution: Air Pollution: Shorter Life, More Dementia Risk, Worse Thinking. A London-based study from 2018 now extends those previous studies, showing that “We have found evidence of a positive association between residential levels of air pollution across London and being diagnosed with dementia, which is unexplained by known confounding factors.”

Here are two media articles on this study:
Is air pollution tied to higher dementia risk?
Air pollution linked to much greater risk of dementia
Here is a link to the study itself:
Are noise and air pollution related to the incidence of dementia? A cohort study in London, England

All links have been added to Alzheimer’s > Risk Factors.

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Risk Factors

New Genetic Work May Provide Future Protection

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A large new investigation, using over 94,000 people in the US and Europe with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s Disease, explored their genetic makeup with reference to that disease. The study revealed five new genetic variants that increase risk for Alzheimer’s. The work will will not immediately affect medical practice in the immediate future, but potentially will provide insights into brain/body interactions involved with dementia, and may help lead to treatments for young people who carry these genes.

Here are two media articles about the work:
Newly discovered Alzheimer’s genes further hope for future treatments
Alzheimer’s Disease Meta-Analysis Identifies Five New Risk Genes

Here is the NIH (National Institutes of Health) press release about the work:
Data sharing uncovers five new risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease

And here is the research publication:
Genetic meta-analysis of diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease identifies new risk loci and implicates Aβ, tau, immunity and lipid processing

All links have been added to Alzheimers > Risk Factors > Genetics and Neuro-Psych.

Category: Alzheimers/Dementia, Neuro-Psych, Risk Factors
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