BRAIN

Alzheimer's disease, who's at risk?

With age, some diseases become more prevalent while others develop and occur gradually. Among the major age-related diseases, neurodegenerative diseases are the most common. This is the case with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease can progress over several years and can have serious consequences for the health of the person with the disease. However, this disease is not systematic. In fact, certain factors make some older people more at risk than others.

Alzheimer's disease facts to remember

Before getting to the heart of the matter, it is important to do a little reminder of what Alzheimer's disease really is. It is also important to shed light on the main symptoms and manifestations of the disease.

Definition

As mentioned above, Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease. This means that it results from the destruction of certain neurons. This pathology is responsible for the progressive decline of memory and certain cognitive faculties. These cognitive problems are due to the fact that the affected neurons are mainly located in the area of the brain responsible for memory and language. This is why senior citizens suffering from this disease have difficulty recognising faces, objects and places.

Manifestation of Alzheimer's disease

As the most common form of dementia among seniors, Alzheimer's disease is easily recognized by its symptoms. However, the symptoms do not occur at the same time. In fact, the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease take several years to fully develop and manifest themselves. These symptoms inevitably lead to diminished mental faculties and total dependency.

The main manifestations of this disease are as follows:

The main factors and people at risk

As you can see, Alzheimer's disease eventually causes the person with the disease to lose his or her independence completely. But despite this irreversible loss of autonomy and memory loss, not all older people develop this condition over time. There are certain people at risk and several risk factors for this disease.

Age

The vast majority of people suffering from this condition are senior citizens. More specifically, Alzheimer's disease affects mostly people over 65 years of age.

Sex

It has been noted that women are more affected by this disease than men.

Cardiovascular health

The condition of the heart and arteries is also believed to be a factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease. According to a study conducted by scientists and published in The Lancet Neurology 2014, the more serious the cardiovascular pathologies are, the greater the risk of suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Thus, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, overweight and obesity can increase the risk of developing this neurodegenerative disease.

Genetics

It is also a parameter to remember when it comes to Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, people with the ApoE4 gene have a higher risk of developing the disease. In fact, if they have only one gene, this risk is multiplied by 3, but if there are two genes, this risk is multiplied by 10.

Low level of education

This may seem inconsistent, but researchers have been able to show that people with higher education are less likely to be affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Family history

The occurrence of this degenerative disease is also influenced by family history. So, if one of your close relatives (mother, father, sister, brother, etc.) has it, there is a good chance that you will also develop this disease.

In addition to the risk factors mentioned above, head microtrauma, cognitive impairment and Down's syndrome can also contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Protective factors

Although some risk factors cannot be changed, there are still ways to prevent and protect yourself from developing Alzheimer's disease. Find out more about the protective factors that can help prevent Alzheimer's disease below.