WHO releases 7 new dementia risk factors one affects millions of Americans every night
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a major update to its guidelines on reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.The second edition of the original 2019 report was updated to “reflect the latest evidence and advances in dementia risk reduction.”The following seven additional health conditions and exposures were added to the list.These new risk factors joined the previously existing 12, which are listed below.Dr.Daniel Amen, physician and founder of Amen Clinics in California, has his own formula for reducing Alzheimer’s risk factors, following an acronym called BRIGHT MINDS.This stands for blood flow, retirement and aging, inflammation, genetics, head trauma, toxins, mental health, immunity and infections, neurohormones, diabesity (co-occurrence of obesity and type 2 diabetes) and sleep.
The WHO’s updated guidelines offer similar advice.Amen spoke with Fox News Digital about the new additions to the WHO’s list of risk factors.The WHO does not recommend menopausal hormone therapy specifically to prevent dementia in postmenopausal women 65 and older.For younger women, it says there is not enough evidence to determine whether MHT affects dementia risk.Amen agreed that there is not enough evidence to support using MHT specifically to prevent dementia.
He said hormonal changes during menopause may affect mood and memory, although the relationship between MHT and dementia risk remains uncertain.“For women, as they go through menopause, lower progesterone makes them anxious, and [with] lower estrogen, they start to have memory problems,” he said.“Hormone replacement early on is helpful, and that’s what we see on the brain imaging work that we do.”Experts note that while menopause-related hormonal changes can be associated with mood and cognitive symptoms, these effects can vary widely.A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel in or near the brain bursts, according to the Ameri...